Claiming Oz pension if you claim British pension? Confusing!!!

[SallyKay]

I just had a question regarding entitlement to the Australian pension. I had heard that if you have been resident in Australia for 10 years and have become a citizen you are entitled to an Australian pension even if you are claiming a British pension. Your British pension is capped and you can claim an Australian pension which will be the difference making the total the same as a full Australian pension. Is this correct because I've read a few things now and I'm very confused? I'm not near pension age but I'm just curious.

Are you entitled to ALL the same help as an Australian Pensioner when you're at pension age as long as you've resided for 10 years and have your citizenship? Are you treated as the same? Also, what if you haven't worked in Australia during that time? Sorry for all the questions I like to know the score with these things but appreciate things change all the time and it's a while until I need to worry about this! :smile:

Thank you!

[Petals]

If you are a citizen and work here then you are entitled to an Aus pension at pension retirement age and who knows what that is going to be in the future. If you have lived in another country and are entitled to a pension in that country then you have to apply for it and the Aus pension is adjusted by the amount you receive from the other pension. I get a British pension, and I was getting a NZ part pension and an Aus part pension but as my oh died and I get a pension from someone else I no longer get a gov pension from Aus or NZ but still get my pension from the UK. My friends get an Aus part pension a British pension and her husband also gets a Canadian pension because they lived and worked there. We have to give a statement of assets to Centrelink all the time when you are pension age as they watch like a hawk on people's assets, that is why its so laughable that people think people with lots of assets are getting a pension.

 

If you have a holiday house or an investment property when you retire its considered an asset and probably will mean that you get no pension.

 

The British pension is not indexed so what we get when they give it to us is what we always get.

 

Looking like retirement age will be 70 for lots of people but as I said who knows what is going to happen.

 

If you have big super then you will not get a pension or only get a part pension and if you are like me just a medical card for prescriptions.

 

Just to add that you have to tell Centrelink if you are going on holiday overseas because after several weeks they reduce your pension whilst you are overseas. They are very nice people here in Aus, they love giving us money I don't think.

[SallyKay]

Thank you so much for all the info, it certainly is pretty confusing isn't it?! So you have to have worked in Australia to claim? Do you happen to know for how long, is there a certain amount of years that you need to have worked to be entitled?

[NickyNook]

No, you don't have to have worked in Australia in order to claim the Age Pension. You just need to meet the residence requirements (plus all the other requirements too).

 

Basic eligibility is outlined here - http://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/services/centrelink/age-pension.

 

As Petals has already said, the Australian Age Pension is means tested so not everyone will qualify for it.

[Parley]

My mum had not realised she was entitled to the British pension after being on the Australian Age pension.

 

She now does get both, and although the Australian pension does get adjusted I believe she is still significantly better off.

She is receiving quite a bit more money now than when solely on the Aus pension.

 

She also got a large amount backdated which was nice.

[wolvesaussie]

is it worth continueing to pay NI Contributions while in australia if in the end your australian pension is reduced by the amount you get from the UK?

[Parley]

is it worth continueing to pay NI Contributions while in australia if in the end your australian pension is reduced by the amount you get from the UK?

 

As I said, I think you are still better off.

My mum said she was quite a bit better off after she applied for the british pension. At least a few hundred a month I think.

[Marisawright]

I had heard that if you have been resident in Australia for 10 years and have become a citizen you are entitled to an Australian pension even if you are claiming a British pension. Your British pension is capped and you can claim an Australian pension which will be the difference making the total the same as a full Australian pension. Is this correct

 

 

Sort of. You don't automatically get the British pension just because you're British - you have to have worked for a certain number of years (it's all based on your NI contributions). The fewer years you worked, the less British pension you get.

 

As for the Australian pension - yes, if you're residing in Australia then you need only 10 years' residency to qualify. However, the Aussie pension is means-tested. That means they look at your assets and your other income, before deciding how much to pay you. Obvoiusly your British pension counts as income, so your Aussie pension would be reduced accordingly.

[Marisawright]

is it worth continueing to pay NI Contributions while in australia if in the end your australian pension is reduced by the amount you get from the UK?

 

Yes definitely, unless you expect to be on the breadline when you retire. The Australian pension is means-tested, so you may find you have too much superannuation to be able to claim the Aussie pension in the early years of retirement. Whereas you will get your UK one regardless.

[PomCat]

I think you will find that the amount of UK pension received counts as income for the income test for the Australian pension. Once you exceed a specified threshold the amount of Australian pension reduces according to a set formula (say, 1 dollar for every 4 dollars received with an upper limit at which there is no entitlement). The other half of the Australian pension test relates to your total Assets, which also affects the amount of pension entitlement once you exceed the allowable limit (I think it cuts out completely when you reach about 1.2 million dollars although the primary place of residence is excluded from the Asset test).

 

Unlike the Australian pension, the UK one is earned by the purchase/payment of the appropriate NI stamp, which can be maintained whilst overseas via the voluntary Class 3 version that costs around 13/14 pounds per week currently. As somebody mentioned, the UK pension payment is effectively frozen for anyone living in Australia (and a few other countries such as Canada I understand), whereas those residing in the EU zone and quite a few other places have their pension indexed.

 

And all this is subject to the whims of governments and the exchange rate..... Hope this helps.

[Petals]

My mum gets a UK pension and she did not pay stamp, I get a UK pension as well and I did work there albeit for not very long. I think you will find that like here changes are not retrospective and it will depend on when a person was born what they will get in the future, also what age they will retire. So I would not worry about it, a lot of people do not even make pension age.

[Marisawright]

My mum gets a UK pension and she did not pay stamp, I get a UK pension as well and I did work there albeit for not very long. I think you will find that like here changes are not retrospective and it will depend on when a person was born what they will get in the future, also what age they will retire. So I would not worry about it, a lot of people do not even make pension age.

 

Here are the eligibility rules and a calculator to work it out:

 

https://www.gov.uk/state-pension/eligibility

 

https://www.gov.uk/calculate-state-pension

[Keith and Linda]

So I would not worry about it, a lot of people do not even make pension age.

 

Now that should make you worry!:eek:

[Guest]

You don't have to be a citizen to claim the age pension. Just need to have lived here with pr for a certain number of years not sure how many though. My partners mother gets the Australian age pension been here for 25 plus years but never worked here. English born she is doesn't have Australian citizenship. Neither does my partner. Fairly sure she doesn't claim a U.K. pension as well though.

[Marisawright]

You don't have to be a citizen to claim the age pension.

 

Yes, that's an important point to understand. It's not about citizenship, it's all about residency - for both the British and Aussie pension.

 

I've seen people assume that because they're an Aussie citizen, they'll be able to claim the Aussie pension anywhere in the world. Or they can come back to Australia after spending their whole adult life abroad, and get the pension. Both wrong!

[miw54]

Can someone just clarify something for me. I know that the social security agreement between Australia and UK ended in 2001. Before this anyone with PR who had lived and worked in either country could equally have those years credited toward the pension e.g. if you live in the UK at pension age you can claim for the years you worked in Oz prior to 2001 and as long as you remain in the UK you are provided with pension covering those years. However, if you move back to Oz you lose the credit for those years. Does the same apply in Australia e.g. if you reside there at pension age can the years you worked in UK prior to 2001 be included in the calculations for the qualifying period ? Hope this makes sense !

Thank you.

[Slean Wolfhead]

, the UK one is earned by the purchase/payment of the appropriate NI stamp, which can be maintained whilst overseas via the voluntary Class 3 version that costs around 13/14 pounds per week currently. As somebody mentioned, the UK pension payment is effectively frozen for anyone living in Australia (and a few other countries such as Canada I understand), whereas those residing in the EU zone and quite a few other places have their pension indexed.

.

 

Is that per week, or per month?

[Marisawright]

Can someone just clarify something for me. I know that the social security agreement between Australia and UK ended in 2001. Before this anyone with PR who had lived and worked in either country could equally have those years credited toward the pension e.g. if you live in the UK at pension age you can claim for the years you worked in Oz prior to 2001 and as long as you remain in the UK you are provided with pension covering those years. However, if you move back to Oz you lose the credit for those years. Does the same apply in Australia e.g. if you reside there at pension age can the years you worked in UK prior to 2001 be included in the calculations for the qualifying period ? Hope this makes sense !

Thank you.

 

I'd like to know, too. I wrote to get a pension forecast and part of the reply said that if I moved to Australia before 5 April 2001 then I could claim the years in Australia before 2001 towards my British pension, but only if I returned to the UK permanently before 2001. Or at least that's what I think it meant, the wording was confusing!

[Keith and Linda]

I'd like to know, too. I wrote to get a pension forecast and part of the reply said that if I moved to Australia before 5 April 2001 then I could claim the years in Australia before 2001 towards my British pension, but only if I returned to the UK permanently before 2001. Or at least that's what I think it meant, the wording was confusing!

 

We arrived in 1999, my wife contacted the uk pension office a couple of years ago, just before she would reach 60, she was told she would have to wait until she was 60 & 1/2 (I think). she applied more like when she was 61, they told her what she would be getting per week and she got her pension back dated to her retirement entitlement date and the money has been coming in since. Though it is paid into our UK bank they do know we live in Aus have our Aus address.

[Marisawright]

We arrived in 1999, my wife contacted the uk pension office a couple of years ago...she got her pension back dated to her retirement entitlement date and the money has been coming in since. Though it is paid into our UK bank they do know we live in Aus have our Aus address.

 

Yes, I will get a part UK pension too (though as I'm a bit younger, I won't get mine till 2018). However it'll be based on the number of years I worked in the UK only (I've been in Oz since 1985). Some people can claim their pre-2001 residence in Australia towards their UK pension entitlement so they get bit extra.

[Keith and Linda]

Yes, I will get a part UK pension too (though as I'm a bit younger, I won't get mine till 2018). However it'll be based on the number of years I worked in the UK only (I've been in Oz since 1985). Some people can claim their pre-2001 residence in Australia towards their UK pension entitlement so they get bit extra.

 

It also has something to do with your husbands uk earnings as well, my wife was a stay at home mum until the little ones started school so she missed a few years earnings during that period, not sure how it all works but my details had to be included in the wife's claim form. My wife gets some 80+ pounds a week, do not know how that compares against a full entitlement?

[Guest]

Can anyone tell me can you still get the Australian age pension if you return to the U.K. ?

We are a mixed couple (one Aussie One English). Doubtful English pension will be on offer not enough years worked there.

[Marisawright]

Can anyone tell me can you still get the Australian age pension if you return to the U.K. ?

We are a mixed couple (one Aussie One English). Doubtful English pension will be on offer not enough years worked there.

 

It depends how long you worked in Australia. To get the pension while you're living in Australia, you need to have 10 years' residence. However to qualify when you're overseas, you need 30 years' residence. If you have between 10 and 30 years' residence, you'll get a pro rata amount.

 

There is one huge hurdle though. To claim the pension, you have to be in Australia for TWO YEARS either before or after you want to claim it. We've been contemplating a move to the UK but we're 60. We'd have to come back to Australia at 65, claim the pension then stay here for two full years. Then we'd be able to go back to the UK and continue to get the pension. If we leave Australia before the two years is up, the pension gets cancelled again.

 

The stupid thing is that wouldn't apply if we moved to most of the European countries, where they've got social security agreements with Australia. The UK doesn't.

[Marisawright]

It also has something to do with your husbands uk earnings as well, my wife was a stay at home mum until the little ones started school so she missed a few years earnings during that period, not sure how it all works but my details had to be included in the wife's claim form. My wife gets some 80+ pounds a week, do not know how that compares against a full entitlement?

 

I thought I answered this but it didn't post. The full entitlement is about 115 pounds I think.

[Guest]

It depends how long you worked in Australia. To get the pension while you're living in Australia, you need to have 10 years' residence. However to qualify when you're overseas, you need 30 years' residence. If you have between 10 and 30 years' residence, you'll get a pro rata amount.

 

There is one huge hurdle though. To claim the pension, you have to be in Australia for TWO YEARS either before or after you want to claim it. We've been contemplating a move to the UK but we're 60. We'd have to come back to Australia at 65, claim the pension then stay here for two full years. Then we'd be able to go back to the UK and continue to get the pension. If we leave Australia before the two years is up, the pension gets cancelled again.

 

The stupid thing is that wouldn't apply if we moved to most of the European countries, where they've got social security agreements with Australia. The UK doesn't.

So if we live in Australia until say 63 can we then claim it aged 65 from the U.K. or do we have to come back at age 65 to claim and the stay for 2yrs? Sorry just unsure of how we will proceed with this. My partner wants to go back to live in the U.K. when we retire so we're just trying to work out if it's possible. He's been here since 1985 so he'd qualify for Aussie pension.