Do You Qualify for the Australian Age Pension?

Social Security payments in Australia are administered by Centrelink. You can usually only get a social security payment from Centrelink if you live in Australia and are either an Australian citizen or you have a permanent resident visa. The thirteen bilateral social security agreements currently in force between Australia and other countries will help you to claim Australian benefits through the social security administrations of those particular countries if you are not resident in Australia. See Centrelink's page on international agreements and the individual fact sheets on each agreement, as well as our general page on Australia's bilateral social security agreements.

There are various Australian social security benefits you may qualify for in retirement. The Age Pension is just one of those benefits. Basically, to qualify for the Age Pension, you must be over a certain age, and meet certain residence requirements. There is also an Income Test and an Assets Test.

If you are an Australian citizen overseas, or if you are contemplating going overseas temporarily or permanently, you should consult Centrelink's overseas page. To read about the payment of Australian Age Pensions when you are temporarily overseas, click here. If you are moving away from Australia permanently, click here.

Do You Qualify for British Social Security Benefits?

Some Australians resident in the UK may qualify for British social security benefits. In Britain, social security rules and administration are closely interwoven with immigration policies. In most cases, entitlement to benefits is linked to a person's immigration status, so it is important to be clear about your immigration status before attempting to claim benefits. A claim for benefits can also affect your right to remain in the UK.

If you are a British citizen; a person with a right of abode or certificate of patriality; a British national with right of re-admission; an EEA national; a refugee; a person with exceptional leave to remain; from Northern Ireland; the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man; a person with indefinite leave to enter/remain; or a person who left Montserrat after 1 November 1995, you cannot be excluded from social security benefits on the grounds of your immigration status.

For more information on all the different types of British social security benefits and eligibility criteria, it pays to have a good look around the UK Department for Work and Pensions website.

Whether you will qualify for a British state pension on retirement will depend on your national insurance contributions and other factors. For more information on retirement and pensions, visit the website of the UK Pension Service.

You are generally not eligible for most British benefits if you are a person "subject to immigration control". You will be subject to immigration control if you require leave to enter or remain and do not have it; if you have leave to enter or remain with a public funds restriction; if you have leave to enter or remain and are the subject of a formal undertaking; or you are appealing a decision about your immigration status.

Most people admitted to the UK with limited leave, such as tourists, are given limited leave to stay in the country on condition that they do not have recourse to "public funds".

For a complete guide to your rights and entitlements as a person entering and leaving the UK, we highly recommend the excellent Migration and Social Security Handbook, 3rd edition, published by the Child Poverty Action Group in October 2002, for £17.95. As well as social security, the book also has information on immigration control, nationality, leave and settlement and European Community social security law, and is an extremely worthwhile investment.

More Information

Other pages in the Bilateral Social Security Agreements section of our website may interest you:

· Overview
· Examples and Case Studies
· Advocacy Work by the SCG
· Send Minister Vanstone an E-mail
· New Agreement with the United States
· Changed Arrangements with the UK
· Changed Arrangements with New Zealand

For up-to-the-minute information on Australia's existing agreements, the implementation of new agreements and negotiations on future agreements, please refer to the International Agreements Page of the Department of Family and Community Services website.

If you have any comments or questions concerning Australia's policy on and negotiation of bilateral social security agreements, please contact the International Branch of the Australian Department of Family and Community Services in Canberra.

If you have a question concerning your own benefit entitlements, contact Centrelink International Services.

The Bilateral Social Security Agreements folder in the Archives section of this site also contains considerable background documentation.

Comments and suggestions for improvement concerning this section of the SCG website should be addressed to SCG Committee member Anne MacGregor.