Post by kennygriffisjnr on May 1, 2017 5:58:20 GMT 7
I am a Comsuper CSS/PSS pensioneer. Comsuper CSS/PSS widows have reversionary pension entitlement of 67% of the original pension, paid fortnightly into an Australian bank account in Australian dollars. Comsuper will not pay into an overseas account. Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation (CSC) which runs the CSS/PSS schemes, justify this on the grounds of a risk assessment taking into account the Anti Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing Act 2006. When I pointed out that Centrelink pays fortnightly pensions into overseas accounts in some 130 countries, amounting to $800million per annum, CSC would not budge. They have no intention of changing their policy.
I put the following scenario to CSC:
Say a Greek-Australian PSS pensioner, a long-time resident in Australia, retires to Athens and marries a local woman. The spouse is a Greek citizen; she has not been to Australia and has not taken Australian citizenship. She has bank accounts in an Athens bank in Euros. She does not have an account in an Australian bank in Australian dollars. If the pensioner dies, how will the widow receive her legal entitlement? CSC's answer is that they would issue a fortnightly cheque! This might work if the widow is in GB, NZ even Europe. But it would not work in Indonesia. ordinary mail is unreliable and cashing an Australian dollar cheque in an Indonesian bank every fortnight would be prohibitively expensive.
My request to the Forum is if anybody knows of any CSS/PSS widows/ widowers they can put me in touch with, or has has any suggestions that might help solve my dilemma. Mind you I am not planning to drop of the perch for a few years yet, so I have time to find a solution.
I put the following scenario to CSC:
Say a Greek-Australian PSS pensioner, a long-time resident in Australia, retires to Athens and marries a local woman. The spouse is a Greek citizen; she has not been to Australia and has not taken Australian citizenship. She has bank accounts in an Athens bank in Euros. She does not have an account in an Australian bank in Australian dollars. If the pensioner dies, how will the widow receive her legal entitlement? CSC's answer is that they would issue a fortnightly cheque! This might work if the widow is in GB, NZ even Europe. But it would not work in Indonesia. ordinary mail is unreliable and cashing an Australian dollar cheque in an Indonesian bank every fortnight would be prohibitively expensive.
My request to the Forum is if anybody knows of any CSS/PSS widows/ widowers they can put me in touch with, or has has any suggestions that might help solve my dilemma. Mind you I am not planning to drop of the perch for a few years yet, so I have time to find a solution.
