Normy wroteIt is perfectly legal for an Australian age pensioner to live permanently in Indonesia. Subject of course to Indonesian visa requirements. After a certain period (was 13 weeks) you lose supplements intended to assist with utility payments. Power, phone, water, etc. You also loose the pensioner concession card which rebates council rates etc., free public transport.
A friend who has lived in Bali past 7 years in receipt of the aged pension has had his payments changed from fortnightly to monthly. Not sure why.
That is my understanding too, although it isn't immediately apparent after initial investigations. You have to dig a little deeper into the red tape. The impression I get is that the Aussie government tends to turn up its collective nose to those citizens who choose to live overseas and claim the pension. They grudgingly concede that you may have paid into the system for 35 years and so are entitled to some sort of concession but are not particularly happy about it. "Don't you love us anymore?" seems to be the sentiment, "So why don't you want to live here, you ungrateful basta*ds? Not good enough for you now?".
PS. If you are a retired politician, the rules are different. My advice to any young chap/chapess looking for an easy life and an early retirement: become an Australian senator, play the game for ten years, retire gracefully, and then you are on a perpetual index-linked gravy train until you finally pop your clogs.
I can't wait!
