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Post by brinfred on Jun 16, 2012 12:37:44 GMT 7
I live in Thailand and receive part NZ pension and part Aust Age Pension and have been returning to Australia every 26 weeks staying there for about 3 weeks each time. Last trip I was 2 days late arriving and it appears to have caused my NZ payment to be halved. I cannot get any sense out of either NZ or Aust. Can anyone help me
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Post by Banjo on Jun 16, 2012 12:40:51 GMT 7
I don't personally know anything about NZ pensions or the agreement between Aus and NZ. Maybe your Aus pension can be increased accordingly? Have you tried asking them about that?
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Post by brinfred on Jun 16, 2012 12:55:13 GMT 7
Thanks Banjo but surely somebody has the same situation as me
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Post by spaceyone on Jun 16, 2012 13:23:33 GMT 7
I live in Thailand and receive part NZ pension and part Aust Age Pension and have been returning to Australia every 26 weeks staying there for about 3 weeks each time. Last trip I was 2 days late arriving and it appears to have caused my NZ payment to be halved. I cannot get any sense out of either NZ or Aust. Can anyone help me Hi Brinfred. In the new budget measures they were going to decrease pension amounts according to how long you had lived in the country. Maybe NZ is doing the same thing, so penalizing you for the time spent o/s, and then Centrelink will do the same to you. I will go and find the figures, I saw them earlier today.
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Post by spaceyone on Jun 16, 2012 13:36:41 GMT 7
Change to residency requirementsBackground The Government announced a tightening of the Australian working life residency (AWLR) requirements for persons to be paid an income support payment while resident overseas in the 2012–13 Budget. Australian working life residency—strengthening requirements Normally, to qualify for an Age Pension (AP) or a Disability Support Pension (DSP) in Australia a person must have been resident in Australia for at least 10 years. Thereafter, only some Australian income support payments are payable when a person leaves Australia to reside overseas. These are the AP, Wife Pension (WP), Widow B Pension (WidB) and some DSP recipients. As at June 2010, there were 71 360 income support recipients residing overseas permanently. The majority (79 per cent) reside in European countries. Of those resident overseas, 62 148 (87 per cent) were receiving AP, 7572 were receiving the DSP, 575 receiving WidB and 969 receiving WP. Annual expenditure as at June 2010 on Australia’s pension payments paid to people living overseas was $571.3 million and at the same time, pensions from overseas countries being paid to people residing in Australia totalled $1.2 billion. Currently, for a person resident overseas, to be paid the maximum rate of AP they would otherwise be paid if resident in Australia, they require 25 years AWLR. Recipients with less than 25 years of AWLR are paid a proportional rate based on the duration of their working life residence in Australia. For example, if a person has 16 years of working life residence, they can receive 16/25th of the rate otherwise payable when a resident in Australia. Most overseas contributory based pension systems pay their minimum overseas rate after about 15 years and their maximum rate of pension after about 40 years of contribution. From May 1973, a pension granted in Australia could be paid in any country in which the person lived. The initial AWLR rules for AP were introduced from 1 July 1986. From 1986 to 2004, different payments had different rules as to how long they could be paid where a person was overseas. From 1988, payment of the Sole Parent Pension, where a person was overseas, was limited to 12 months and the Wife Pension, Widow B Pension and Disability Support Pension also had limited payment periods in some cases from 1991. Originally, Carer Payment was not portable for any period from 1987 but now has limited portability. The Howard Government standardised the payment overseas rules for the different payments in 2004 and also provided a reduced payment period during a temporary absence overseas. Generally, payment was reduced from 26 weeks down to 13 weeks from 1 July 2004. Budget proposal The Budget proposal is to extend the current 25 years AWLR requirement, to attract a full-rate of payment otherwise payable in Australia, out to 35 years of AWLR. This is to apply from 1 January 2014 to persons who, having exceeded their 26 weeks temporary absence period, are resident overseas. Additionally, the AWRL rule is to be applied separately to a partnered pensioner. Currently, a partnered pensioner (WP) can rely on the primary pensioner’s AWLR to set their rate. This latter requirement will not involve many recipients — as at June 2010 there were only 24 655 Wife Pension recipients[7] and, of these, only 969 were resident overseas. The Budget proposal estimates savings of $50.8 million over four years. Comment The increase in the AWLR rules from 25 to 35 years will see increased numbers of people resident overseas paid lesser amounts of pension. This is where the estimated savings will be realised. A person’s AWRL is fixed by the number of years they have been resident in Australia — this not an element a person can readily change. Changing the year requirement from 25 to 35 years will adversely affect those with an AWLR of between 26 to 34 years. www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/BudgetReview201213/ResidencyPortabilityThat all implies the cuts have no yet come into affect in Australia, but maybe they already have in NZ. You could get an income statement, to see what you are actually getting paid for, and compare it to an old one. You can download one through the Centrelink website, and would also be able to look at at briefer view of your payment history, going back several months.
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Post by Banker on Jun 16, 2012 13:49:00 GMT 7
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Post by chrisnouy on Jun 22, 2012 7:54:37 GMT 7
does this ruling about increased awlr apply accross the board or only to "new " pensioners. I thought that persons already on an age pension would continue under the old rules Can you please tell me where can i get a full copy of this "\atrocity"
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Post by Banjo on Jun 22, 2012 8:39:00 GMT 7
This wouldn't apply to current Old Age pensioners. The link provided will take you to the full text.
I tend to think that it will not apply to people who have spent their whole "working life" in Australia, whether they have been working for 35 years of not. My take is, that if you left school at 15, worked until you were say.. 45 and went on the DSP, you would still receive the full OAP at 65. This is just my opinion.
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Post by peter on Jun 22, 2012 10:33:08 GMT 7
Concerning the 35 years AWLR requirement for OAP, as I read it, from Jan 1, 2014, those OAP leaving Australia will need to have 35 years AWLR for full age pension. This will apply to all OAPs who leave Australia after that date. For thoese OAPs already overseas prior to Jan 2014, they will be grandfathered on the 25 year AWLR requirement until such time as they resume permanent residency within Australia. Thereafter, should they wish to resume permanent residency overseas the 35 year AWLR will apply to their future OAP paid overseas.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 22, 2012 10:54:26 GMT 7
Concerning the 35 years AWLR requirement for OAP, as I read it, from Jan 1, 2014, those OAP leaving Australia will need to have 35 years AWLR for full age pension. This will apply to all OAPs who leave Australia after that date. For thoese OAPs already overseas prior to Jan 2014, they will be grandfathered on the 25 year AWLR requirement until such time as they resume permanent residency within Australia. Thereafter, should they wish to resume permanent residency overseas the 35 year AWLR will apply to their future OAP paid overseas. Can you advise a little more i and due for the OAP in 2015. I have been a permanent resident since 1966, at this stage if i wanted i could go live Overseas? For what period of time would that be? That is provided that they do not change the retirement age again, plus any other changed.
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Post by peter on Jun 23, 2012 13:09:38 GMT 7
Hello Bedwin. Your question really has two aspects; 1. Could you live overseas at this time and then claim your OAP in 2015. 2. What amount of OAP would be paid? In regard to 1. if you did move overseas at this time, then by 2015 you would have an argument on your hands as to whether you were still a permanent resident. If you lost that argument, you would then have to reestablish your permanent residence and that would take you two years residence in Australia. 2. The 35 year AWLR rule comes into effect after Jan1 2014 and since you have been a permanent resident since 1966, you would qualify. If you are a DSP, which fact I do not know, then it might be more complicated if you were to move overseas now. But since they have brought in the six weeks rule, that is not a very viable option.
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Post by peter on Jun 23, 2012 13:21:13 GMT 7
A Query To The Board.
I do not understand the system where one could as a DSP go overseas every 13 weeks and still be eligible for the DSP, as on would inevitably, come to the situation where one was no longer a resident. Apparantly entitlement was not residence based once the DSP was granted, but rule based. The rule being the "an absence not more than 13 weeks. This then brings up the OAP situation. Portability is not the problem as the OAP is portable. The problem is the amount of OAP that is portable is based on the 35 year AWLR rule. If one does not have 35 years AWLR then the amount paid as being portable is prorated......downwards. My question is, what is to stop an OAP getting on the merry go round and returning within every six months, so as to maintain full rate pension.......including the bits and pieces that they add on for "Australian residents". Thanks.
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Post by Banjo on Jun 23, 2012 13:38:50 GMT 7
Assume some one has a minimum qualification for the OAP, a 10 year AWLR, so he is only entitled to about a third of the payment if he takes it overseas for more than 6 months. This would certainly be worth a trip back to Australia every 6 months to reset the full payment. The closer someone was to the full amount, say a 30 year AWRL, they may consider it not worth the bother. Would Centrelink allow this indefinitely? I can't see why not. Ditto the bits and pieces like the pensioner supplement.
Just thinking out loud, if some one from the UK moves to Australia and is on the OAP, their pension is locked on that payment, they get no increases. I think returning to the UK brings them up to the full amount again... but does it remain that much if they leave again?
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Post by peter on Jun 23, 2012 14:30:49 GMT 7
Thank you Banjo. Looking back at past practise with the DSP overseas being reset ever 13 weeks, was it reset to the Australian residence rate, or was it set at the offshore rate? And concerning the UK pension system, that is another example where politicians act on the basis of convenience, and not on the basis of principle. And it will stay that way until the people of a society become upright in their own conduct. Yes, politicians are the actors on the stage, but the people allowed them and allow them to be there.
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Post by Banjo on Jun 23, 2012 15:21:41 GMT 7
The DSP was always paid the full rate while overseas less a few minor allowances. If grandfathered I've been told it's a bit lower, maybe the supplement isn't paid? I've probably done 30 trips in ten years and there was very little difference between the payments received offshore and onshore. Is that what you mean?
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