Post by Banjo on Jul 13, 2010 17:13:28 GMT 7
I noticed this on the Seniors website today.
Meeting Age Pension requirements
YOURLifeChoices subscriber, Mark, is keen to travel frequently to Fiji to visit his daughter and her family but he needs to know what requirements he needs to meet in order to keep his Age Pension?
Q. Mark
Can you please tell me if it is possible to go to Fiji for 12 weeks to visit our daughter more than once a year without losing our pension? Can we return to Australia after 12 weeks stay here for a time and return to Fiji again? If so how many times in a 12 month period is it allowed??
A. Provided by Centrelink
Generally Age Pension is portable indefinitely but there are situations where this is not correct. The rate of payment is also affected depending on circumstances and country to which the customer is travelling. The information below is therefore very general. The best thing for you to do is to contact Centrelink directly and a Financial Information Services officer can run through some questions about your personal situation, circumstances and plans. This will take around 5-10 minutes.
In most cases, a person on Age Pension can leave the country as many times as they like without affecting their pension. However, if the absences, along with other factors, indicate that the customer is no longer residing in Australia, then their rate of payment can be affected. The rate of pension can also be affected by the length of the absence.
A person does not have to remain in Australia for any length of time between trips, but the length of time in Australia in comparison to the length of time outside Australia can indicate that the person is no longer a resident of Australia.
Unless the customer is a returned resident, the Age Pension is portable indefinitely. Pension Supplement will stop after 13 weeks of a temporary absence, or immediately on departure if the absence is permanent. Rent Assistance is payable up to 26 weeks from departure for temporary absences but only if the customer continues to pay rent.
After 26 weeks absence to most countries (including Fiji), the customer’s payment is also affected by their working life residence. Working life residence means residence in Australia between the ages of 16 and Age Pension age. If the customer has 25 years residence in Australia, the pension will not be reduced for this reason. Please note that these rules are different if the customer is travelling to New Zealand.
Income and assets continue to affect a person’s payment as usual. After 12 months absence from their home, any home owned in Australia is generally considered to be an asset and may affect a person’s pension including to the point where the pension is cancelled due to assets.
A person receiving Age Pension can travel overseas as many times a year as they like and still remain entitled to their Age Pension. However, if they are no longer residing in Australia according to the social security law and policy, then they will lose entitlement to any add-ons, including Pension Supplement and the Pension Concession Card entitlements and only the basic rate of Age Pension will be paid.
Meeting Age Pension requirements
YOURLifeChoices subscriber, Mark, is keen to travel frequently to Fiji to visit his daughter and her family but he needs to know what requirements he needs to meet in order to keep his Age Pension?
Q. Mark
Can you please tell me if it is possible to go to Fiji for 12 weeks to visit our daughter more than once a year without losing our pension? Can we return to Australia after 12 weeks stay here for a time and return to Fiji again? If so how many times in a 12 month period is it allowed??
A. Provided by Centrelink
Generally Age Pension is portable indefinitely but there are situations where this is not correct. The rate of payment is also affected depending on circumstances and country to which the customer is travelling. The information below is therefore very general. The best thing for you to do is to contact Centrelink directly and a Financial Information Services officer can run through some questions about your personal situation, circumstances and plans. This will take around 5-10 minutes.
In most cases, a person on Age Pension can leave the country as many times as they like without affecting their pension. However, if the absences, along with other factors, indicate that the customer is no longer residing in Australia, then their rate of payment can be affected. The rate of pension can also be affected by the length of the absence.
A person does not have to remain in Australia for any length of time between trips, but the length of time in Australia in comparison to the length of time outside Australia can indicate that the person is no longer a resident of Australia.
Unless the customer is a returned resident, the Age Pension is portable indefinitely. Pension Supplement will stop after 13 weeks of a temporary absence, or immediately on departure if the absence is permanent. Rent Assistance is payable up to 26 weeks from departure for temporary absences but only if the customer continues to pay rent.
After 26 weeks absence to most countries (including Fiji), the customer’s payment is also affected by their working life residence. Working life residence means residence in Australia between the ages of 16 and Age Pension age. If the customer has 25 years residence in Australia, the pension will not be reduced for this reason. Please note that these rules are different if the customer is travelling to New Zealand.
Income and assets continue to affect a person’s payment as usual. After 12 months absence from their home, any home owned in Australia is generally considered to be an asset and may affect a person’s pension including to the point where the pension is cancelled due to assets.
A person receiving Age Pension can travel overseas as many times a year as they like and still remain entitled to their Age Pension. However, if they are no longer residing in Australia according to the social security law and policy, then they will lose entitlement to any add-ons, including Pension Supplement and the Pension Concession Card entitlements and only the basic rate of Age Pension will be paid.
