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I met these guys the other week. Absolutely lovely couple. Brisbane Broncos supports (Legends) They seem happy as Lary to be able to retire here and have all the perks.
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.
@ #4. No. You can come and go whenever you like. After being out of Australia for I think 13 weeks you lose the supplement portion of the pension. The supplement is intended to help with your utility costs, power, water, phone, etc. The length of time you can stay out of Aust. is governed by the laws of the country where you are staying. Indonesia 180 days. Of course you leave, return and start again, although the Indo rule says 180 days in a 12 month period. If you have the retirement kitas different rules.
Many Australian people run into problems when after living in Bali for many years they reach pension age and find on their return the 2 years rule applies to them.
Many Australian people run into problems when after living in Bali for many years they reach pension age and find on their return the 2 years rule applies to them.
Budget 2016: Transition to retirement pensions set to close | afr.com
Set to get even more confusing as the Oz government changes the rules yet again. I set up TTR a year ago as a yearly lump sum (after the Oz government took away all my family tax benefits. 2 kids in school and I pay the same tax as a single bloke). I'm not sure if the proposed new TTR legislation will affect me or not but it's another example of the knobs in government riding roughshod over people's lives. What really stinks in Oz is the preferential superannuation entitlements politicians have voted in for themselves - that really gets up my nose. If I'd known what I know now when I left the UK I would have done everything in my power to keep paying the UK National Insurance. They don't have all these rules and regulations governing your pension. I think what the Oz government wants is for everybody over 65 to die and stop bothering them.
Maybe the UK isn't so complicated SamD but it isn't so great either.
If you had continued with your UK NI contributions and retired to OZ, Canada, NZ or even Bali the Old Age Pension (OAP) received, after age 65, is frozen at that level and not indexed for UK inflation.
If received in UK, USA or any EU country (i.e. Slovakia)......it is indexed annually.
There are reports of UK Pensioners in OZ and Canada only receiving $20/month .
(sama-sama)
@ #7. Yes and die preferably in your bed in your home. All about being independent in your old age, but really about saving the Government money.
I don't see a problem with a government freezing a pension at a certain amount, or even excluding recipients from living in another country.
Many/most of those drawing an aged pension didn't provide for themselves via a personal superannuation, and paying tax IS NOT contributing to a superannuation plan. Taxes are for running the country.
Consider a person working a job the income from which has him paying almost no tax, and possibly not having private health insurance. When he retires, he gets back ALL the tax he paid in a working life in the first couple of years, and it's left to future generations of taxpayers to support him in what may be a long retirement. That cannot go on forever.
Additionally, if living overseas, he contributes nothing via GST to the economy of his donor state.
Those of us who paid exorbitant amounts of tax for many years find that concept offensive. I have not, nor will I ever, get a cent from the government because I provided for my retirement, paid for private health insurance all my life, and I do not expect that the taxpayer will ever give me a cent.
I like the British system where every person, regardless of wealth, is eligible for the aged pension, and they contribute a small percentage of their income throughout their working lives to fund it. I know a former musician who lives in a 4 MILLION pound house and gets the pension.
Many/most of those drawing an aged pension didn't provide for themselves via a personal superannuation, and paying tax IS NOT contributing to a superannuation plan. Taxes are for running the country.
Consider a person working a job the income from which has him paying almost no tax, and possibly not having private health insurance. When he retires, he gets back ALL the tax he paid in a working life in the first couple of years, and it's left to future generations of taxpayers to support him in what may be a long retirement. That cannot go on forever.
Additionally, if living overseas, he contributes nothing via GST to the economy of his donor state.
Those of us who paid exorbitant amounts of tax for many years find that concept offensive. I have not, nor will I ever, get a cent from the government because I provided for my retirement, paid for private health insurance all my life, and I do not expect that the taxpayer will ever give me a cent.
I like the British system where every person, regardless of wealth, is eligible for the aged pension, and they contribute a small percentage of their income throughout their working lives to fund it. I know a former musician who lives in a 4 MILLION pound house and gets the pension.
I think you are talking about the Australian age pension which only pay the senior a "means tested' compensation.
The British system pays according to their contributions, except for those living in countries not in EU or some which have something called a 'reciprocal' agreement. Yet no-one seems to be able to define what is reciprocated.
With regard to a person living overseas, and not contributing to GST, that same person will not be accessing what those taxes pay for either. That is why GST/VAT systems were introduced as a consumer tax...its like a toll-road....the concept is users should pay for the facility.
You can spend about € 2-3 total for 3 meals per per day until you get fed up with rice+some meat or fish based stuff and go for something western.
Will <20 per day get you a place to stay that is not a total dump? Probably. Depends what you mean by a dump. But then you have no money for good times.
Will <20 per day get you a place to stay that is not a total dump? Probably. Depends what you mean by a dump. But then you have no money for good times.
H
Harryo08 ..Which, or whom, are you quoting or referencing, or even qualifying you communicating with on the forum as, otherwise, your post makes no sense.
Davita, what's the topic for this thread? Lets see now. Oh look, it happens to be "Living on Bali for $175 a week"
If you read my replay... it suddenly makes sense*. Magic!
The topic is not what I was meaning.
Your post # 13 came directly after mine but I was responding to F18 and had quoted him to indicate that.
To maintain continuity in any thread a post should quote the post it is answering....especially if it is posted out of the topic-trend the thread has gone.
i.e. if you were commenting on the OP a simple quote from that post , or reference to it, would have maintained continuity of thought. Without a reference it is logical to assume you were replying to the previous post (mine) and therefore...it didn't make sense....sorry, no offence.
Your post # 13 came directly after mine but I was responding to F18 and had quoted him to indicate that.
To maintain continuity in any thread a post should quote the post it is answering....especially if it is posted out of the topic-trend the thread has gone.
i.e. if you were commenting on the OP a simple quote from that post , or reference to it, would have maintained continuity of thought. Without a reference it is logical to assume you were replying to the previous post (mine) and therefore...it didn't make sense....sorry, no offence.
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