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Australia makes older expats wait longer for pensions

By July 3, 2017October 3rd, 2023Newsletter

Australia makes older expats wait longer for pensions

July 3, 2017

Australia makes older expats wait longer for pensions

The Australian government has just announced a proposed change to their welfare system, where older expats from South Africa and other countries will have to wait up to 15 years before they can access their old age or disability pensions.

Under the previous law, if a South African expat had been an Australian resident for 10 years, of which five had to be continuous, they were eligible to receive these pensions.

Five years work added to ten-year wait

Under the new proposals, older expats will have to wait longer for their pensions if they haven’t already spent five years already working in Australia. Under the new laws, older expats will only be eligible to receive a pension after having spent ten years of continuous residence, of which 5 now have to have been spent working or alternatively, after having spent fifteen years of continuous residence in Australia.

With these new changes the Australian government plans to save almost $120 million and ensure that people have a “reasonable connection” to Australia before they are granted a permanent pension payment.

In addition to these proposed changes, from the 1st of January 2018, a pension supplement will stop if someone spends more than six weeks overseas or if they leave permanently.

How FinGlobal can assist you while you wait

If you’ve recently immigrated to Australia or are planning to immigrate to Australia in the future, you’ll be pleased to know that it’s possible to access your South African retirement annuities even before you turn 55. This is possible because of changes to tax legislation in 2008.

As South Africa’s leading financial migration company, one of our top services is assisting South Africans living overseas turn their retirement annuity policies into cash and then transferring the funds to their new home. The good news is that these funds can be used for any purpose – to help you with your income while you wait for your Australian pension or to save as a nest egg for later use.

Access your retirement savings abroad

If you have a pension or provident fund, it’s possible to transfer your retirement savings offshore. If you have made a previous withdrawal from your preservation fund, FinGlobal has a solution to access the balance and transfer it to your offshore account.

With thousands of  clients in over 105 countries, we have assisted thousands of expats with retirement transfers and many other migration services. In everything we do, we are proud to have a 100% success rate.

To find out how we can assist you in accessing your retirement savings and moving your money abroad, speak to us today.

 

 

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We’ll answer all your questions. Your personal consultation is completely free and without obligation.






 

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