If your on a pension in Australia aren't you supposed to live in Australia for a minimum amount of time per year?
The regulations for eligibility to access the Oz pension can be best described as fluid and at the least open to interpretation. Much like here in Indo' and like here there are ways to circumvent some regulations and some laws without breaking them.
I'm heading to Oz at Xmas and one of my main aims, aside from friends, family and good beer, is to have a meeting with a specialist in the field of retirement and pension laws as they currently stand. Currently.
At the moment you are technically required to reside in Oz for a 2 year period before you can claim the pension but what constitutes 'residency'?
For example, an hypothesis might suggest having a retirement visa in another sovereign state does not mean that you are a retired person in your homeland. Can you work part time in your homeland without impacting on your retirement status in another country and paying taxes for that renumeration?
Can that constitute the notion of residency?
Technically speaking, once you have been approved as a retired pension recipient in Oz it can't be taken away from you unless you contravene certain tax obligations.
The Oz pension and your superannuation benefits are 2 separate entities and a little known fact regarding 'super' is that you can access it on a drip feed from age 55 without being taxed on it. i.e. You can nominate a certain amount per week/month and still be allowed to earn a certain amount (of which you would pay tax) per annum on top of your 'super' payments. It's called, 'Transition to Retirement'.
Confusing? F#ck yeah. You just have to dig deeper than the desk jockey at the local Governmental office has knowledge of.
I'll let you know what I learn after I return to Bali in Feb'.
Unless, of course, my public statements might put at risk any machiavellian plans I may or may not concoct.
