Australian Aged Pension

[Lacessit]

7 hours ago, Nemises said:

Think you would have been better off staying in Australia, owning your own house there and living on the pension?

 

Think again.

 

 

 

My condo has a swimming pool, restaurant and convenience store. The MONTHLY rental for a fully furnished unit is $340.

 

My yearly car registration is $80. A full car service is usually $50. Internet is $18 a month.

 

The only really big expense I have is my top level private health cover in Australia.

 

IMO any pensioner in Australia who does not own the roof over their heads is screwed.

 

It is  unbelievable both major parties allow multinational corporations to export resources without paying their fair share of taxes, or allow the rort of negative gearing to continue. However, that's what happens when politicians are bought.

[4MyEgo]

On 9/22/2024 at 4:11 PM, Will27 said:

Just waiting for KH to get off of his meds and see all of these new posts.

 

As you are aware, I haven't been on this part of the forum for a while, and as I just replied to 2 of his posts, if we all take a look at how he has to reply to every post (full pages) and put his ill informed and delusional opinions on every post, we should make it our duty to keep him up till the early hours of the morning replying to all of our  further posts, until his meds run out.

 

[georgegeorgia]

2 hours ago, CygnusX1 said:

No, afraid I have no advice for those guys. If I did know of a way around it, I’d have been  living in Thailand full time for the last six years myself. Instead, I’m forced to permanently lock up a large amount of money in my flat in Australia, along with paying thousands each year in council tax, body corporate fees, fixed charges for electricity and water, air fares between Sydney and Bangkok. I do save on health insurance that I would have had to purchase were I living in Thailand full time.

 

 

Why are you forced ?

Why don't you sell it ?

Or rent it for cash ? 

[Olmate]

2 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

 

As you are aware, I haven't been on this part of the forum for a while, and as I just replied to 2 of his posts, if we all take a look at how he has to reply to every post (full pages) and put his ill informed and delusional opinions on every post, we should make it our duty to keep him up till the early hours of the morning replying to all of our  further posts, until his meds run out.

 

 Not possible to appeal to a  higher authority about his trolling flaming either lately! Why is that? Is KH catholic  or a mason maybe! 

[Will27]

27 minutes ago, Olmate said:

 Not possible to appeal to a  higher authority about his trolling flaming either lately! Why is that? Is KH catholic  or a mason maybe! 

I've questioned this previously before.

My bet is because he generates a lot of traffic.

 

The fact that he ruins a lot of threads and people stop posting doesn't really come into it.

[CygnusX1]

1 hour ago, georgegeorgia said:

Why are you forced ?

Why don't you sell it ?

Or rent it for cash ? 

I’m forced to maintain a residence (I believe ‘domicile’ is the technical term) in Australia so I can keep my tax residency status while spending 8 months or so overseas each year. I suppose I could just sell my flat and rent a place for the 4 months I’m in Australia, but changing address every year would look more than a little iffy to the tax office, and renting the same place for the whole year would end up nearly as expensive as keeping my flat, with all the disadvantages of renting. If my flat was in Bondi, no doubt I could profitably rent it out short term while I’m not in Australia, but since it’s in a place no tourist would want to visit, I could only really do that for 12 month periods, as well as having to spend tens of thousands to bring it up to a condition suitable for renting out.

 

To bring this back on topic, I’m about to apply for the OAP. Apologies if this has been already covered in the past 215 pages, but does anyone know if my 8 month absences each year would prevent me from getting the pension? There’s a lot of talk about the 2 years spent in Australia to qualify, hope I wouldn’t have to suspend much of my travel for that period of time.

 

[Pattaya57]

25 minutes ago, Will27 said:

I've questioned this previously before.

My bet is because he generates a lot of traffic.

 

The fact that he ruins a lot of threads and people stop posting doesn't really come into it.

 

He only generates a lot of his own traffic as shown here by his 45 posts in a row having hardly any replies

 

[georgegeorgia]

5 minutes ago, Will27 said:

I've questioned this previously before.

My bet is because he generates a lot of traffic.

 

The fact that he ruins a lot of threads and people stop posting doesn't really come into it.

I think he is younger than you too 

 

Now I know we don't have brain surgeons in Australia so before you ask what does that mean ,please have a think about it

[scorecard]

1 hour ago, Olmate said:

 Not possible to appeal to a  higher authority about his trolling flaming either lately! Why is that? Is KH catholic  or a mason maybe! 

Can put him on ignore / blocked but that's very different to having him blocked from posting.

[Will27]

7 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

Probably be better off financiallu if you can get the Disability pension,I believe you can also receive it living  overseas ?

I'm thinking about going for the DSP and not touching my super 

 

Looking at your posting history, you're a shoo-in for the DSP.

[Nemises]

1 hour ago, CygnusX1 said:

If my flat was in Bondi, no doubt I could profitably rent it out short term while I’m not in Australia

If your flat was in Bondi you could sell your car spot for a million dollars!

 

https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/agent-justifies-hefty-1-million-price-tag-on-car-park-will-be-2-million-in-five-years-220013610.html

[4MyEgo]

3 hours ago, CygnusX1 said:

To bring this back on topic, I’m about to apply for the OAP. Apologies if this has been already covered in the past 215 pages, but does anyone know if my 8 month absences each year would prevent me from getting the pension? There’s a lot of talk about the 2 years spent in Australia to qualify, hope I wouldn’t have to suspend much of my travel for that period of time.

 

As long as you have kept your residency status as an Australian Resident, then you shouldn't fall into the Non Resident returning category IMO.

 

The above said, one of Centrelink's staff processing your application could be a knob-head and try to say, yeh but you only travel to one spot, so therefore you are a Non Resident, NO, because I have maintained my residency as a tax resident of Australia, my abode is Australia, I enjoy holidaying in Thailand, can't argue with that, and that doesn't make me a Non Resident.

 

Having a property, is your anchor and you can always appeal if a potential knob-head thinks otherwise, however I can't see them going down that path, you might get a question, like, if your application is approved, will you continue to holiday in Thailand for 8 months of the year, hmmm, actually, I have been thinking about doing Vietnam, the Philipines, Laos and others, but my current funds haven't allow me, hence te reason I have chosen Thailand as a holiday destination for 8 months of the year, and been thinking when I get my age pension, that should help travel to other places as above for 8 months of the year, or until those funds start to dry up.

 

The world is my oyster and I intend on exploring it, Mr knob-head.

   

[4MyEgo]

3 hours ago, Pattaya57 said:

He only generates a lot of his own traffic as shown here by his 45 posts in a row having hardly any replies

 

Who knows, after all of our most recent posts above, we might get to another 45 in a row for him to reply...LOL

[LosLobo]

3 hours ago, CygnusX1 said:

I’m forced to maintain a residence (I believe ‘domicile’ is the technical term) in Australia so I can keep my tax residency status while spending 8 months or so overseas each year. I suppose I could just sell my flat and rent a place for the 4 months I’m in Australia, but changing address every year would look more than a little iffy to the tax office, and renting the same place for the whole year would end up nearly as expensive as keeping my flat, with all the disadvantages of renting. If my flat was in Bondi, no doubt I could profitably rent it out short term while I’m not in Australia, but since it’s in a place no tourist would want to visit, I could only really do that for 12 month periods, as well as having to spend tens of thousands to bring it up to a condition suitable for renting out.

 

To bring this back on topic, I’m about to apply for the OAP. Apologies if this has been already covered in the past 215 pages, but does anyone know if my 8 month absences each year would prevent me from getting the pension? There’s a lot of talk about the 2 years spent in Australia to qualify, hope I wouldn’t have to suspend much of my travel for that period of time.

To qualify for the Australian Age Pension (OAP), you need to meet residency requirements, including living in Australia when applying and staying for two years after qualifying.

 

During those two years, extended absences could delay pension portability.

 

Once portable, spending up to 8 months overseas annually shouldn’t affect your eligibility, but being abroad for more than 6 months could reduce the pension amount based on your working-life residency in Australia.

Portability requirements (taking your payment overseas) | Department of Social Services, Australian Government (dss.gov.au)

[Pattaya57]

4 minutes ago, LosLobo said:

Once portable, spending up to 8 months overseas annually shouldn’t affect your eligibility, but being abroad for more than 6 months could reduce the pension amount based on your working-life residency in Australia.

I've read several posts where people think the 35 year rule is 35 years working. My understanding is that you have to be an Australian resident for 35 years between the ages of 16 and 67 to get the full pension and it has nothing to do with if you work or not.

 

Like the poster you're responding to, I've been spending at least 7-9 months per year in Thailand since I retired in 2018. I kept my Unit that I left empty while away those 6 years and the whole time I have been an Australian  resident for tax. I consider those 6 years count in the 35 years, regardless that I basically lived in Thailand.

 

Have I got that wrong?

[CygnusX1]

33 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

As long as you have kept your residency status as an Australian Resident, then you shouldn't fall into the Non Resident returning category IMO.

Thanks so much for that, you’ve set my mind at rest, and convinced me to undergo the no doubt lengthy and complicated process of applying for the OAP. As a bonus, I don’t spend all of my 8 months overseas in Thailand, but spend nearly 3 months in Europe each year (just shy of the annoying 90 day limit of the Schengen zone). I realise I have to  be in Australia when applying. As for the question of whether someone in my rather comfortable financial position should get the OAP, that’s another topic for discussion!

[Olmate]

5 minutes ago, Pattaya57 said:

I've read several posts where people think the 35 year rule is 35 years working. My understanding is that you have to be an Australian resident for 35 years between the ages of 16 and 67 to get the full pension and it has nothing to do with if you work or not.

 

Like the poster you're responding to, I've been spending at least 7-9 months per year in Thailand since I retired in 2018. I kept my Unit that I left empty while away those 6 years and the whole time I have been an Australian  resident for tax. I consider those 6 years count in the 35 years, regardless that I basically lived in Thailand.

 

Have I got that wrong?

I reckon your wrong, sadly.

[Pattaya57]

12 minutes ago, Olmate said:

I reckon your wrong, sadly.

Why, I'm an Australian citizen maintaining a property in Australia and I've been accepted by the ATO as an Australian resident for tax purposes those 6 years. Centrelink can't be counting my holidays away to overrule the ATO saying those years don't count as an Australian resident.

 

Or if you disagree based on must work 35 years that is simply not true. My mother stopped working when she was 25 with 4 kids to bring up and she got the full pension after only working 8 years of her life.

 

[Artisi]

The questions, ideas, comments and understandings on this thread just goes round and round. 

The simple answer is to call centrelink Hobart who look after all things related to pensions and overseas Australians - simply state your case and ask for their ruling.

 

Asking the experts here is about as useful as asking your local centrelink staff - usually useless as they don't fully understand.

I've always found Hobart to be very accommodating, straight forward and helpful, if overseas they will promptly return your phone calls. 

[LosLobo]

39 minutes ago, Pattaya57 said:

I've read several posts where people think the 35 year rule is 35 years working. My understanding is that you have to be an Australian resident for 35 years between the ages of 16 and 67 to get the full pension and it has nothing to do with if you work or not.

 

Like the poster you're responding to, I've been spending at least 7-9 months per year in Thailand since I retired in 2018. I kept my Unit that I left empty while away those 6 years and the whole time I have been an Australian  resident for tax. I consider those 6 years count in the 35 years, regardless that I basically lived in Thailand.

 

Have I got that wrong?

To qualify for the full Australian Age Pension, you must be an Australian resident and have lived in Australia for at least 35 years between the ages of 16 and 67.

 

The Australian Working Life Residence (AWLR) requirement is based on the time spent as a resident, not on employment.

 

Your individual circumstances, such as residing in Thailand for most of the year, may affect your eligibility for the full pension allowance after 6 months.

 

If you spend 7-9 months in Thailand annually, it could impact your residency status for the Age Pension for portability as well.

 

I suggest consulting with Centrelink to clarify your specific situation regarding Age Pension eligibility.

 

Note: Some individuals may be confused by mixing concepts related to tax residency and Centrelink residency requirements.

IMHO

[Pattaya57]

20 minutes ago, Artisi said:

The questions, ideas, comments and understandings on this thread just goes round and round. 

The simple answer is to call centrelink Hobart who look after all things related to pensions and overseas Australians - simply state your case and ask for their ruling.

 

Asking the experts here is about as useful as asking your local centrelink staff - usually useless as they don't fully understand.

I've always found Hobart to be very accommodating, straight forward and helpful, if overseas they will promptly return your phone calls. 

So basically you post on a forum to say don't waste your time posting on a forum 😉

 

[Pattaya57]

1 hour ago, LosLobo said:

Your individual circumstances, such as residing in Thailand for most of the year, may affect your eligibility for the full pension allowance after 6 months.

 

If you spend 7-9 months in Thailand annually, it could impact your residency status for the Age Pension for portability as well.

 

Note: Some individuals may be confused by mixing concepts related to tax residency and Centrelink residency requirements.

IMHO

Just to be clear, I'm only talking about these 6 years counting in the 35 years for application for OAP.

 

I do not believe Centrelink will ask how many months a year did I spend out of Australia 'on holiday' during the 6 previous years to determine how many of those should count towards the 35 years. To me it's clear that all 6 years count as I was an Aussie citizen and tax resident that just happened to do a lot of holidays in retirement? Are Centrelink going to deduct all overseas holidays during ages 16 to 67, of course not.

 

(It's only an issue because I spent 16 years working overseas that clearly don't count in the 35)

 

[scorecard]

1 hour ago, 4MyEgo said:

 

As long as you have kept your residency status as an Australian Resident, then you shouldn't fall into the Non Resident returning category IMO.

 

The above said, one of Centrelink's staff processing your application could be a knob-head and try to say, yeh but you only travel to one spot, so therefore you are a Non Resident, NO, because I have maintained my residency as a tax resident of Australia, my abode is Australia, I enjoy holidaying in Thailand, can't argue with that, and that doesn't make me a Non Resident.

 

Having a property, is your anchor and you can always appeal if a potential knob-head thinks otherwise, however I can't see them going down that path, you might get a question, like, if your application is approved, will you continue to holiday in Thailand for 8 months of the year, hmmm, actually, I have been thinking about doing Vietnam, the Philipines, Laos and others, but my current funds haven't allow me, hence te reason I have chosen Thailand as a holiday destination for 8 months of the year, and been thinking when I get my age pension, that should help travel to other places as above for 8 months of the year, or until those funds start to dry up.

 

The world is my oyster and I intend on exploring it, Mr knob-head.

   

QUOTE:

"the above said, one of Centrelink's staff processing your application could be a knob-head and try to say, yeh but you only travel to one spot, so therefore you are a Non Resident".

 

Yes centrelink has a 24/7 live link to immigration records (passport records in and out) and my understanding is that on every 'in and 'out' activity the computers search to see if a passport number (in or out) is in the Centrelink database and if yes the 'in ' out' details are recorded instantly on the Centrelink records for that person.

 

But, unless I am misinformed there's nothing in the immigration records re the destination of that traveller for departure and no record on where the traveller is coming from when they arrive in Australia.

 

So how could the Centrelink staff be able to say things like "...but you only travel to one spot...".

 

 

[georgegeorgia]

8 hours ago, Lacessit said:

The only really big expense I have is my top level private health cover in Australia

Why if you living in Thailand are you paying a private health insurance in Australia???

 

[Lacessit]

53 minutes ago, georgegeorgia said:

Why if you living in Thailand are you paying a private health insurance in Australia???

 

Any major health issue in Thailand could cost me potentially millions of baht.

 

For the cost of a plane ticket to Melbourne, I get free hospital care and a specialist of my choice, very speedily.

 

Two years ago, I was treated for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. I also had surgery for an inguinal hernia. A cystoscopy, colonoscopy and gastroscopy.

 

Three CT scans for the lymphoma, two CT scans for heart and back. Blood tests galore. All paid for by Medicare plus private cover.

 

It boggles my mind what that would have cost me in any hospital in Thailand, even assuming the drugs are available here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Artisi]

9 hours ago, Pattaya57 said:

So basically you post on a forum to say don't waste your time posting on a forum 😉

 

On this particular point that every man and his dog has a different view, yes 😉

 

 

 

 

[Nemises]

7 hours ago, Lacessit said:

For the cost of a plane ticket to Melbourne, I get free hospital care and a specialist of my choice, very speedily.

 

What about an unforeseen hospitalisation in which you were unable to fly back to Australia? You’re up for potentially millions of baht, correct?

[georgegeorgia]

7 hours ago, Lacessit said:

chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Is this a increase in white blood cells?

 

I get my blood tested every month (bulk billed free in Australia as you know) and I noticed a increase too.

 

I'm always afraid of this leukaemia as my late father had it although he was 80 at the time .

Thanks for reminding me about that dreaded disease .

There is no cure unfortunately 

[Lacessit]

2 hours ago, Nemises said:

What about an unforeseen hospitalisation in which you were unable to fly back to Australia? You’re up for potentially millions of baht, correct?

That's a risk I take.

With my pre-existing conditions and age, no insurer in Thailand will cover me.

[Lacessit]

2 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

Is this a increase in white blood cells?

 

I get my blood tested every month (bulk billed free in Australia as you know) and I noticed a increase too.

 

I'm always afraid of this leukaemia as my late father had it although he was 80 at the time .

Thanks for reminding me about that dreaded disease .

There is no cure unfortunately 

It's an increase in abnormal white blood cells.

 

While there is no cure, I have been in full remission for two years.