52 year old going back to UK after 43 years!
 

Hi there! After migrating with my family as a wide eyed and excited nearly 9 year old from Plymouth to Australia in 1970, I'm feeling a pull to go back. I'm done with the blazing sun (got the sun spots to prove it) and feel a yearning for some soul, character and atmosphere (not to mention some rolling, green scenery). My Geordie OH is also of the same mind and is happy to relocate down 'my end', ie. Devon/Cornwall. We've priced the container, found a good company to transport our pooch and will soon be putting the house on the market. It's scary and exciting and all the other things the members of this forum have discussed but I think we're up to the task (I think the advice on this forum will help a lot). I haven't read all the threads yet but I'd be interested to know if there is any info on claiming the Australian Pension from the UK. We were a bit dismayed (to put it lightly) to learn that there is no longer an agreement between the two countries and we wouldn't be able to claim a pension. As neither of us are entitled to a UK Pension, it's a bit scary (not to mention unfair) that we will have to fend for ourselves for the rest of our lives after having worked and paid taxes in this country for over 30 years. I know I'm not old enough for a pension yet but OH will be soon and it would be nice to know there is something come in if only to help pay for heating and Cornish Pasties! Any thoughts, suggestions or advice? Cheers. :thumbsup:

Re: 52 year old going back to UK after 43 years!
 

Hi, are you sure about this? What about work-based contributions?? I'm sure someone on the Aussie board would know about this or Spouse of Scouse who posts regularly on this forum has checked into the pension situation. Good luck with your plans anyway. I guess the Cornish pasties trumped the stotties eh? :starsmile:

Re: 52 year old going back to UK after 43 years!
 

This is what caught me. It is very misleading-and I think deliberately so. It was only the insistence of two savvy expats who are both returning from Aus, that convinced me to contact Centrelink International:-131-673.

I think-think, that you can get your OzPen paid in the UK. Give them a ring (it isn't the busy c/link number-you get a human fairly quickly, and they are a tad less formal than the main service.

I still can't figure that rescinding of reciprocal agreement, and the fact that two women knew it had no effect on my receiving a Pension.

Re: 52 year old going back to UK after 43 years!
 

Thanks Curleytops and Emperor. Our research has revealed that the UK has ceased to index the British Pensions for Ex-pats living in Oz, they are frozen from the date they were first granted. In a tit for tat move, it seems that Australia has rescinded their agreement to pay the Australian Pension to people living in the UK. Your post has given us some hope, Emperor. I wasn't aware there was such a thing as 'Centrelink International' so we will definitely give them a call, thanks for supplying the number. I will also search for previous posts from Spouse of Scouse. It wasn't so much Stotties over Pasties, Curleytops, more a case of who has the lesser snow fall - if you get my drift :lol:

Re: 52 year old going back to UK after 43 years!
 

Hmmm........I didn't notice your first line: 1970 as a 9yo?

I was referring to the Australian Age Pension. You do not qualify for that anyway yet, you are just spring chickens!

Which pension were you referring to?

Re: 52 year old going back to UK after 43 years!
 

I might be a Spring Chicken, Emperor but the OH isn't! He's 9 years older than me so is definitely coming up for the OAP. He's been in Oz since 1977 so didn't work for very long in the UK before emigrating so he won't qualify for the UK pension either. :fingerscrossed: we get some positive advice from Centrelink International or any other forum members who have successfully made a claim. Loopholes anyone?

Re: 52 year old going back to UK after 43 years!
 

Are you absolutely sure of this? It would impact, very significantly, on a family member of mine if this is the case. What are people supposed to live on if they "go home", are not self-supporting, and can't get either a UK or Australian pension?

Re: 52 year old going back to UK after 43 years!
 

I didn't realise at the time but one of the sites we sourced info from was actually this Forum! The thread is entitled "Dammit! Australian Pensions can't be paid in UK" and is dated 13.9.09. It was posted by "Ezzie". As I mentioned before, it's payback for UK not indexing the British Pensions. There's even talk of British Veterans who are living overseas handing back their medals in protest. From what I understand, if the UK do the right thing then Australia will reinstate their reciprocal agreement. We will definitely call Centrelink International though and see what they have to say.

Re: 52 year old going back to UK after 43 years!
 

See below which mentions the termination of the agreement. Outrageous!


http://www.britishpensions.org.au/pe...guidelines.htm

Re: 52 year old going back to UK after 43 years!
 

Hi FullCircle

You can most certainly receive the Oz Age Pension while overseas, with some important conditions. I'd advise you to check the links below against your own situation, the standout things that seem to apply to you are:

you need to be an Australian resident and physically in Australia on the day you apply for the pension, http://www.humanservices.gov.au/cust...nk/age-pension

you will receive the full, basic means tested pension if your 'working life' in Australia was at least 25 years ('working life' means years spent in Oz between 16 and your aged pension age - it doesn't mean you had to have a job for that length of time).
http://www.humanservices.gov.au/cust...tfromAustralia

As you've been here a fair while, you'll be aware that the Oz aged pension is an entirely different system to the UK state pension. The Australian model isn't a 'pay in' scheme - our income taxes go into the general taxation pool, money isn't taken out and set aside for a future pension. Instead, the aged pension here is more a welfare model, people need to meet income and assets tests to qualify for an aged pension. You'll find all the info in the above links, and good luck!!

Forgot to mention, for those unfamiliar with the Oz system - employers are required to pay 9% (increasing over the next 3 years to 12%) of an employee's salary into a personal superannuation account for that employee. With a few exceptions, this money can only be accessed by the employee when they retire permanently or reach a certain age (depends when you were born).

Re: 52 year old going back to UK after 43 years!
 

When the British govt. decided to freeze (not index/increase annually) the pensions of British people who had moved to Australia, the Australian government was forced to 'top up' these pensions, while still providing Australians who had moved to Britain with full pensions, indexed and increased yearly. Pretty reasonable for the Oz government to scrap the SS Agreement with Britain, the UK govt. couldn't have it both ways!!

Re: 52 year old going back to UK after 43 years!
 

Hi SoS
Thank you for your replies. I wholeheartedly agree with you with regard the freezing of the British Pensions, let's hope the protests and petitions to the UK Govt. help to reverse the decision.
As I mentioned to another forum member, I mistakenly took the "cancelling of the agreement" to mean that we wouldn't be entitled to our pension at all if we moved back to the UK. I now understand that we are entitled but we have to be in Australia to lodge the claim. The next question will be - Can we move to England now and return in three years time (when OH is 65) to lodge the claim in person? I'll keep reading the Centrelink Websites as I seem to find something different the more I click on various links and will call Centrelink International for some info too. Thanks again for taking the time to reply, it is much appreciated.
Cheers.

Re: 52 year old going back to UK after 43 years!
 

Hi FC, really happy to be of any assistance I can :) Re the terminated SS agreement, it's been 13 years now and despite the efforts of umpteen groups, the UK govt. won't budge.

I understand about finding different information at different times on the Centrelink website, it's a nightmare to negotiate and I sometimes think it's done deliberately, to put people off applying! My understanding of the residency changes which came into effect this year is that to be eligible to receive an Australian age pension, the person must have been resident in Australia for at least 10 years continuously, or for several periods which add up to more than 10 years, at least one of periods being five years From what you've written previously, you more than meet this requirement, you can work out your eligibility based on your income and assets by using the calculators on the Centrelink website.

The question about your husband returning home to claim the pension is a bit more difficult, as you've discovered there are bits and pieces of information all over the place. From my reading, my take on it is this.

You need to be an Australian resident as well as physically present in Australia on the day you lodge your application. If you're moving back to the UK to live, and are therefore UK residents, I don't think a quick trip back to Oz to claim the pension would cut it. You'd need to prove that you'd moved back to Australia for good, I'd assume Centrelink would want proof such as a long term lease or ownership of a property here, as well as evidence that you'd 'cut ties' with the UK.

Again, this is only my understanding of the regs and you'll need to check with Centrelink (good luck there!).

I'm in a slightly similar situation as you, my husband (dual UK/Oz citizen) is nearly 64, I'm 55 and we're going to retire to the UK in a couple of years I'm an Oz citizen so will have to do the Spouse Visa shite :)

Re: 52 year old going back to UK after 43 years!
 

I received the Australian Age Pension for some years before returning to England, so I now receive it here less the Supplement.

However in recent months the exchange rate has changed, so I'm now receiving about £150 less a month which is quite a blow.

Depending on your assets, you might do well to draw the UK pension when the time comes, and receive the various top ups. My UK pension is now still only 25 pence a week, increased by 5 pence since I returned :ohmy:

Re: 52 year old going back to UK after 43 years!
 

Hi SoS. Jeez, it's like the good news and the bad news, isn't it? He definitely qualifies for the residency bit and he's got 34 continuous working years under his belt. I'm hoping you're wrong about him having to be a resident when he lodges his claim though. If you can receive payments whilst living overseas and you meet the minimum residency requirements, it doesn't make sense to me that you have to be living here when you lodge your claim. If we were going to an 'agreement' country he could lodge from there without having to come back at all. A lot can happen in three years though so no point getting too chewed up about it - Yet! After reading some of the other posts about Spouse Visas I must admit I'm relieved I don't need to worry about that too. I get confused with all the acronyms let alone all the rules and regs! The frown lines are deepening by the minute!:frown