Canada Agreement and foreign pension information 106-04008000

In Canada, the pension insurance legislation is the responsibility of the Canadian federal government.

The Old Age Security Act provides an income tested payment based on residence in Canada for people over 65 with low income.

The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) (Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) for employees in Quebec) commenced 1 January 1966 to provide coverage through the collection of compulsory contributions which insure the contributor, and their family, against disability and death and provide for income in the form of a pension once the person reaches retirement age.

Note: a person can receive a payment under the Old Age Security Act and CPP/QPP at the same time.

The collection of contributions and payment of pensions is the responsibility of the CPP and QPP. Service Canada is the service delivery arm that seeks to provide a central contact for government programs.

Employment insurance is managed separately and each province/territory of Canada provides programs to cover residents.

Widow B Pension and Wife Pension were sunsetted in 1995 and, along with Bereavement Allowance, ceased to be paid from 2020. See:

• Widow B Pension
• Wife Pension
• Bereavement Allowance

The protocol in 1990 made minor amendments to the provisions for widowed persons and added portability but took effect from the start of the Agreement.

The original Agreement with Canada covered:

• age pensions
• invalid pensions (now Disability Support Pension)
• Wife Pensions
• Carer Pensions (now Carer Payment) for partners of Australian pensioners and
• pensions payable to widowed persons:
• Sole Parent Pension (now Parenting Payment Single)
• Widow Pension
• Bereavement Allowance

Notes:

• there was no requirement for Invalid Pensions (DSP) to be severely disabled
• widowed persons were required to have been married (de jure) or ‘dependent female
• any wife or carer pension granted due to being the partner of Australian pensioner who was paid under the Agreement was also deemed to be paid under the Agreement

Payments granted under the 1989 Agreement were taken to be paid under the 2003 Agreement when that entered into force (Article 20.3). However, no provision of the 2003 Agreement could affect the qualification of a payment under the 1989 Agreement meaning the previously more favourable portability rules still apply to those payments.

Portability under the 1989 Agreement was indefinite to any country for:

• Age pensions
• Invalid pensions (now Disability Support Pension)
• Wife pensions
• Widow B pensions, and
• pension payable to a widowed person who became a widowed person while both the person and the spouse were Australian residents
• other widowed persons and carer pensions (now Carer Payment) were only payable indefinitely in Australia or Canada

A comparison rate (higher of proportional or direct deduction rates) continues to apply (Article 20.6) for customers granted under the previous Agreement who were:

• Australian residents on 8 May 1985
• granted and departed Australia before 1 January 1996

For Australia

Department of Social Services (DSS)

For Canada

Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)

For Australia

Services Australia

For Canada

Service Canada

For Australia

International Services (CIS)

Note: the Australian Taxation Office is the liaison agency for Double Coverage.

For Canada

International Operations, Service Canada, Ottawa.

Under the Agreement with Canada, information held about customers may be exchanged between the Liaison Agencies to determine entitlement to payments under the Agreement and under either country’s domestic legislation (Article 14.1).

Liaison forms are used for general exchange of information. Information on escalation and urgent queries is available for staff in International Services through the International Services (CIS). See the Resources page for a link.

For more information on bulk data exchange, see International Data Exchange Program and auto-indexation of foreign pensions.

The following liaison form is completed by International Services (CIS) and sent to Canada:

Australia/Canada Agreement on Social Security - Liaison Form (AUS187CA)

For help with creating and completing the liaison form, see Agreement liaisons, NZ CICs and exchange of information.

The following liaison form is completed by Canada or the customer and is sent to International Services (CIS).

Liaison Form - CDN/AUS2

This form is used in all communication from Canada.

• Section 1 - Purpose: this section indicates the reason for the liaison and the certification by Service Canada
• Section 2/3 - Reference Numbers/Applicant: this section provides reference numbers and details of the person claiming if they are not also the insured person, that is, for CPS claims
• Section 4 - Spouse/Deceased Spouse or Parent: this section provides details of the Applicant’s spouse or the deceased contributor for CPS claims
• Section 5 - Information provided by Canada: this section specifies the Canadian information and other forms or documents that may be sent with the liaison
• Section 6 - Information requested from Australia: this section specifies the Australian information required by Canada

Under the Administrative Arrangements, each country sends copies of existing medical information to the other country with claims for invalidity payments from that country.

Medical examinations will be undertaken upon request. Reimbursement of costs applies, including reasonable travel and accommodation.

Forms

For Australia

For Australian DSP claims, upon request Canada arrange for the Medical Assessment Report - Disability Support Pension - (Outside Australia) AUS175 to be completed and sent to Australia.

For Canada

Australia is not required to provide specific forms for Canadian invalidity pension claims.

Any enquiries about double coverage or certificates of coverage should be directed to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) website.

There are no double Coverage provisions in the Agreement with Canada. See International Social Security Agreements.

Any queries about taxation of pensions or the requirement to lodge a tax return should be directed to:

• In the other country - the tax authority in the other country directly
• In Australia - the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) website

For general information on taxation, including issuing Australian Payment Summaries, see the Taxation information in International Social Security Agreements.

Tax treaty

Australia has a double tax agreement with Canada, which avoids the need to pay tax in both countries. Tax deductions from pensions from one country are allowed as a credit against tax payable for residents of the other country.

Tax deductions

In Canada, Canadian pensions over a certain level are taxed at source. In Australia, Canadian pensions may have a non-resident tax deduction. The tax agreement limits this deduction to 15%.

The gross rate of Canadian pension (before deductions) is maintained

Canadian tax year

Canada generally uses the calendar year (1 Jan - 31 Dec) as the tax year.

Any queries about:

• Health Insurance coverage in the other country - the customer should be directed to contact the health insurance authority in the other country, and
• Medicare coverage - should be directed to Medicare, see Medicare phone numbers

For general information on health insurance and Medicare coverage, see Health insurance/Medicare information in International Social Security Agreements.

Australia does not have a reciprocal health agreement with Canada.

The official languages of Canada are English and French.

Naming conventions and pronunciation for French.

Telephone country code is +1.

Street address:

FIRSTNAME SURNAME [addressee]

10-123 MAIN ST SE [apt/unit + street number + street direction]

MONTREAL QC H3Z 2Y7 [city/municipality + province/territory + postal code]

Rural address:

FIRSTNAME SURNAME [addressee]

RR 4 LCD MAIN [rural route identifier + station information]

LLOYDMINSTER AB T9V 2Z9 [city/municipality + province/territory + postal code]

Post Office Box address:

FIRSTNAME SURNAME [addressee]

PO BOX 4001 STN A [postal box number + station information]

VICTORIA BC V8X 3X4 [city/municipality + province/territory + postal code]

Note:

• Abbreviate the street type. Example: AVE for Avenue
• Abbreviate the street direction. Example: SE for Southeast
• Put the city, province and postal code on the same line
• Abbreviate the province. Example: ON for Ontario
• Separate the first and last 3 elements of the postal code with a space. Do not use hyphens

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Canada since July 20, 2005.

Claims for Australian payments under agreements use the same methods and processes as domestic claims. See Claims for Australian payments under International Agreements.

Forms to claim an Australian payment in Canada can be obtained by contacting the Canadian authorities or International Services (CIS). Forms can also be downloaded from the Services Australia website. See the Resources page for a link.

Forms required

For all payments:

• AUS140CA - Australian pension claim - Agreement with Canada
• Mod(iA)CA - Income and assets - Canada

Additional medical forms:

• DSP:
• AUS142 - Work Capacity - Customer information
• AUS109 - Treating Doctor's Report, outside Australia
• CAR:
• AUS156 - Assessment for Carer Payment
• AUS156a - Health Professional Assessment for Carer Payment

Forms can be lodged at any Canadian social security office.

Under the Administrative Arrangements, the Canadian social security office will receive and date stamp the form and, if necessary, make certified copies of documents.

The Canadian Liaison Agency will verify the customer’s identity and send the claim to CIS with a completed Liaison Form including periods of coverage in Canada and Canadian pension details. See Exchange of information and liaison forms on the General information tab for the Canadian liaison form.

If a person is not an Australian resident and in Australia on the date the claim is made, they may use the Agreement to meet the residence rules for claims if, on that date, they are:

• an Australian resident, a resident of Canada or a third Agreement country that accepts claims for Australian pension under another agreement (Article 5.1(a)), and
• physically present in Australia, Canada or that third country (Article 5.1(b))

Australian claims under the Canadian Agreement may be lodged in some other Australian social security agreement countries.

Canada will accept claims for Australian benefits under other Australian social security agreements.

Note: the customer must also satisfy any other rules under the other agreement and other social security law provisions, including portability. For example, DSP can be claimed in a third country but has an ongoing residence requirement. Therefore, if the claimant is:

• living in the other country, DSP cannot be paid
• temporarily in the other country, DSP may generally be paid for the period it is portable under domestic legislation

See Claim Lodgement Matrix (CLM).

The normal rules for working out the date a claim is ‘made’ and the start day apply to claims under the Agreement with Canada. However, the Agreement also allows the following dates to be used:

• the date of lodgement of a claim for an Australian payment with the Canadian foreign pension authorities (Article 12.1)

See Claims for Australian payments under International Agreements and Start Day (CLK) for coding assistance.

The Agreement allows:

• totalisation of periods of qualifying Australian residence and periods of Canadian creditable periods to meet any minimum periods to qualify for An Australian pension, for example, 10 years for Age Pension (Article 6.1)
• the total of any non-continuous Canadian creditable periods to be considered to be continuous to meet any continuous residence requirement to claim an Australian pension (Article 6.4)

Notes:

• Overlapping Australian residence and Canadian creditable periods are only counted once (Article 6.5(a))
• A Canadian creditable period accumulated under the Old Age Security Act which coincides with a Canadian creditable period accumulated under the Canada Pension Plan shall be taken into account once only (Article 6.5(b))
• For DSP and widowed persons, only Canadian creditable periods in the Canada Pension Plan (contributions) can be used to totalise (Article 6.2)
• Policy advice is that adjoining periods of Australian qualifying residence and Canadian creditable periods, with a break of up to three months in between, can also be considered to be continuous
• When totalising, use any Canadian creditable periods certified by the Canadian authorities, noting the limitations above

A Canadian creditable period is either a period of residence in Canada (creditable period for OAS) or a period of contributions (creditable period for CPP), as certified by the Canadian authorities.

Note: Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) creditable periods/periods of coverage cannot be used for totalisation for Australian payment.

To be able to use the totalisation provisions, a person who is not an Australian resident at the date of lodgement must have at least 12 months Australian WLR in Australia of which six months must be continuous (Article 6.6). Note: unlike WLR for rate, this period cannot be rounded.

No minimum WLR is required if the person is an Australian resident at the date of lodgement (Article 6.6).

The Agreement also allows a person to use their deceased partner’s creditable periods in the Canada Pension Plan to totalise for PPS (Article 6.3).

CP has no qualifying residence periods but does have a Newly Arrived Resident's Waiting Period (NARWP). Beside normal exemptions, a NARWP only applies to a person who has 'entered Australia'. See Newly Arrived Resident's Waiting Period (NARWP) and Qualifying Residence Period Exemptions. A person who is resident and present outside Australia has not entered Australia and therefore does not have a NARWP. To avoid granting CP to a person who has never been to Australia, the Agreement requires a person to have been an Australian resident at some time (Article 5.2).

The Agreement allows the ongoing residence requirement for DSP, PPS and CP to be met if the customer continues to reside in Canada (Article 13.1).

The Agreement with Canada (Article 7.1) refers to the overall rate calculation contained in the Social Security (International Agreements) Act 1999 (S12(1)).

This means:

• customers paid under the Agreement who are outside Australia are paid a proportional rate according to their Australian working life residence (WLR)
• the Rate Limiter/Limited Rate applies, and
• additional child amounts are included in the proportional rate. These amounts are paid automatically as a component of the Australian pension if the customer is qualified (S14A, SS(IA)A 1999)

The proportional rate also includes the proportionalisation of Canadian pensions (Randisi concession) for use in the income test (Article 7.1). The rate of foreign pension used in the income test is the customer’s Australian working life residence (WLR) divided by 300. The Agreement determines the Randisi proportion (300 months). This is different to the legislation that is used to determine the proportional rate (420 months in most cases).

Autonomous customers who are paid a proportional rate and in receipt of a Canadian pension will also have the Randisi concession applied to their Canadian pension (Article 7.2).

Although a person may be qualified for an Australian payment or portable outside Australia, if the customer has no WLR the rate of payment outside Australia will be nil.

Note: in some circumstances their partner’s WLR may be used. See Working Life Residence (WLR).

When a person is paid a proportional rate under an agreement, Rent Assistance (RA) cannot be paid. Other add-ons such as Energy Supplement and Pension Supplement are payable under normal add-ons portability rules. See Portability of Add-ons.

Examples of when a customer is paid a proportional rate includes (but not limited to):

• permanently overseas
• temporarily overseas longer than 26 weeks for age pension
• former resident transferring to the agreement for portability
• resident in Australia and paid a proportional rate due to the comparison rate

Returns to Australia

While there is no temporary return provision, the inside Australia rate includes a Comparison Rate which means the proportional rate can continue to be paid if it is higher than the direct deduction rate (see below).

Customers in Australia under the Agreement are paid a direct deduction rate (Article 7.3). That is, all Canadian payments covered by the Agreement, including social welfare payments, are not assessed as income but will be deducted dollar-for-dollar from the maximum rate of the Australian payment before the application of the income or assets test.

The Agreement includes a Comparison Rate in Australia, that is, the higher of direct deduction or proportional rate is paid (Article 7.4).

Note: it is important to remember that if a person is paid a proportional rate inside Australia they can be paid all components of the Pension Supplement, the Energy Supplement but no other add-ons such as Rent Assistance. However, all other parts of the agreement proportional rate calculation apply such as additional child amounts and the proportionalisation of the foreign pension in the income test.

Note: customers on a Comparison Rate who are accruing Australian working life residence (WLR), for example, DSP, should be reviewed every 12 months from the date of lodgement.

Customers inside Australia and receiving a Comparison Rate on 1 July 2004, are 'saved' (grandfathered) from the 1 July 2014 AWLR changes and have their rate calculated using:

• their partner's AWLR (if applicable), and
• 300 month denominator until either they:
• leave Australia, or
• move to an Inside Australia (direct deduction) rate, or
• transfer to an autonomous assessment, or
• lose entitlement

Customers receiving the Comparison Rate and saved from the 1 July 2014 AWLR changes must have this assessment made manually on the Residence Savings (RSS) screen.

The rate paid from grant of a new claim is based on where the customer is present, even if resident in the other country and irrespective of the 26 week temporary departure provision.

For example, a person who is resident in Canada lodges a claim while temporarily in Australia:

• If granted from a date when they were or are still in Australia, they will be paid the inside Australia rate from grant. The rate will swap to the proportional rate from the date they leave Australia
• If granted from a date when they were again outside Australia, for early claim, they will be paid the proportional rate immediately

Departures from Australia

There is no temporary departure provision in the Agreement. The outside Australia rate applies immediately on departure regardless of the duration of the absence. However, the inside Australia rate includes a Comparison Rate which means the proportional rate may already apply if it is higher than the direct deduction rate.

The Agreement with Canada specifies the rate calculation that applies ‘where an Australian pension is payable whether by virtue of this Agreement or otherwise to a person who is outside Australia’ (Article 7.1). See Outside Australia in Rate calculation.

Note: ‘or otherwise’ refers to autonomous customers.

Payment’s exempt under the Agreement are generally exempt for autonomous customers (section 8(8)(zc) Social Security Act 1991).

See Assessment and exempt payments on the Canadian payments tab.

Under the Agreement, provided the customer remains qualified, Australian payments are payable indefinitely in both countries, that is, for temporary or permanent absences (Article 13.1).

Portability to third countries for a customer paid under the Agreement is the same as for an autonomous customer leaving Australia (Article 13.2). See Portability of payments.

If necessary, a customer in receipt of an autonomous payment covered by the Agreement may be able to transfer to the Agreement if they are in Canada when their normal portability period expires. The portability under the Agreement then applies. See Portability.

Note: the customer must meet the transfer requirements and satisfy any payment specific requirements under the Agreement, for example, being severely disabled for DSP.

Once a customer transfers to the Agreement, they are then considered to be paid by virtue of the Agreement and all provisions of the agreement apply, including rate of payment. See Rate calculation.

See Transfers to international social security agreements.

A person who has sufficient Australian qualifying residence (or an exemption) can only transfer from the Agreement to autonomous if they are an Australian resident and in Australia.

On return to Australia, system processing will automatically transfer from the Agreement to autonomous if the person is an Australian resident who has only used the Agreement to extend their portability while outside Australia.

Customers who transfer to autonomous may be affected by the former resident provisions if they leave Australia again within 2 years of becoming an Australian resident. See Former resident provisions.

For Australian payments made into bank accounts outside Australia. See Overseas Bank Account Details (OBAD).

The Old Age Security Pension is subject to a means test based on the customer’s income from all sources, including Australian pension. Pensions are reviewed so customers with high income may incur an overpayment.

Main payment(s)

• Old Age Security Pension (AGE)
• Equivalent allowance for widows/widowers or partners of Old Age pensioners

Supplementary payments/Allowances

• Guaranteed Income Supplement

Main payment(s):

• Retirement Pension (CPA)
  Note: includes Post Retirement Benefit (PRB)
• Disability Pension (CPI)
• Survivor Pensions (CPS)

Note: Post Retirement Disability Benefit (PRDB) may be payable to a person who is under age 65 who becomes disabled while receiving CPA. PRDB stops at age 65.

Supplementary payments/Allowances

CPP Children’s Benefits. May be paid to children of disabled or deceased contributors

Employees who only worked or last resided in Quebec may rather be paid under the Quebec Pension Plan (QPP). QPP payments are not covered by the Agreement. Customers who only worked or last resided in Quebec are still required to claim on the same combined claim form. The Canadian Liaison Agency will decide which fund (CPP or QPP) pays the contributory pension, however, the QPP authority will not advise the outcome of the claim. For further information, see:

• Claims forms and processes
• Other known payments

Other Canadian federal, provincial or territorial welfare payments may be exempt from the income test for customers outside Australia. See Other known payments.

The requirement to claim Canadian pensions applies to Canadian AGE, CPA and CPI.

CFP does not apply to CPP Children’s Benefits or survivor pensions. Customers may claim Children’s Benefit voluntarily using the CPS (children of deceased contributors) or CPI (children of disabled contributors) claim pack. For Claim forms and processes, see Claim forms and processes.

Customers who only worked or last resided in Quebec are still required to claim on the same combined claim form. The Canadian Liaison Agency will decide which fund (CPP or QPP) pays the contributory pension, however, the QPP authority will not advise the outcome of the claim.

Old Age Security Act (OAS):

• periods of legal residence after the age of 18

Canada Pension Plan (CPP):

• Contributions paid by employers and employees from 1 January 1966. A minimum income must be earned in a calendar year before contributions are ‘valid’. Low income earners may have contributions refunded to them

The Eligibility and coding tab contains detailed information on Canadian payments that are subject to CFP legislation.

Claim packs containing all the necessary forms to claim a Canadian payment can be issued through the Foreign Pension System (FPS).

Claim packs are available for AGE/CPA/CPS or CPI.

Customers who only worked or last resided in Quebec are still required to claim on the same combined claim form. The Canadian Liaison Agency will decide which fund (CPP or QPP) pays the contributory pension, however, the QPP authority will not advise the outcome of the claim.

Specific requirements for Canadian claims

The customer is to complete and provide the following:

• AGE/CPA/CPS claims:
• Application for Canadian Old Age, Retirement and Survivors benefits (ISP-5054-AUS)
• documents to prove residence in Canada - AGE only
• proof of death (Death Certificate) - CPS only
• CPI claims:
• Application for Canada Pension Plan Disability benefits (ISP-5053-AUS)
• Medical Report (ISP-5052)
• Questionnaire for Disability Benefits (ISP-5050)
• Consent for Service Canada to Obtain Information (ISP-5051)

Requests for additional Information

Where information provided with the claim for a Canadian pension is incomplete, Canada will send requests for information in English or French direct to customers.

Return of foreign pension claim

Under the Administrative Arrangements, Canadian forms can be lodged in Australia at any service centre.

• All foreign pension claims and supporting documentation must be scanned, and
• The original foreign claim form and (copies of) supporting documentation must be sent in paper form via internal mail to International Services (CIS). See Processing a foreign pension claim

International Services (CIS) only

CIS will complete the following and attach to the foreign pension claim to send to the agreement country. See Agreement Liaison Detail (ALD) for method of transmission.

All claims

Australia/Canada Agreement on Social Security - Liaison Form (AUS187CA).For assistance with creating and completing the liaison form, see Agreement liaisons, NZ CICs and exchange of information.

Enquiries regarding claims for Canadian payments in Canada or a third country should be directed to the Canadian social security authorities. See the Authorities, Institutions and Liaison Agencies on the General information tab.

Canadian payments can be made in Australia by direct deposit or cheque.

Any queries about the non-payment of Canadian pension should be directed to the Canadian pension authorities, for Authorities, Institutions and Liaison Agencies, see the Authorities, Institutions and Liaison Agencies on the General information tab.

Customers receive 12 regular monthly payments, coded as Freq: ‘MTH’.

There are no bonus payments.

All payments into Australia are paid in Australian dollars, however, all foreign pensions must be recorded in the source currency - Canadian dollars (CAD). Both CPP and Old Age Security cheque payments show the Canadian dollar amount on the cheque butt, however, the cheques are issued in Australian dollars.

Note: amounts recorded in source currency on the FPD screen must not be changed to the AUD amount.

Canadian payments are generally assessed for cost of living increases (CPI) each year:

• Old Age Security - 1 January, 1 April, 1 July and 1 October
• CPP payments - 1 January

Some Canadian pensions recorded are automatically adjusted for CPI increases. See International Data Exchange Program and auto-indexation of foreign pensions.

Canadian AGE/CPA/CPS/CPI are:

• proportionalised according to the customer’s WLR before being included in the income test where the Australian rate is proportional, including Agreement and autonomous customers (Article 7.1(b) and 7.2), and
• ordinary income in Australia for autonomous customers and direct deduction if paid under the Agreement (Article 7.3)

Note: CPP Post Retirement Benefit (PRB) and Post Retirement Disability Benefit (PRDB) are assessed in the same way as CPA.

Comparison Rate applies in Australia (Article 7.4). See the Rate calculation on the Australian payments tab.

Each member of a couple is deemed to receive half of the total amount received by the couple (Article 7.6).

Amounts coded in the Social Welfare: field - Guaranteed Income Supplement or equivalent allowance paid to widows/widowers or partners of Old Age Security pensioners - are exempt for customers outside Australia (Article 7.1). See Note: in Coding information below. For further information, for exempt payments under the income test, see the Rate calculation on the Australian payments tab.

Other agreed Canadian federal, provincial or territorial welfare payments are also exempt outside Australia Article 7.1(a)(iii).

See Other known payments.

Depends on whether the child meets the Australian definition of a dependent child. If the child:

• Meets the dependent child definition, the amount is exempt but should be coded elsewhere. See Foreign pension coding
• Does not meet the dependent child definition, the amount is assessable but treated and coded the same way as other CPP payments, see Note: in Coding information below

Amounts that are treated as a direct deduction under an agreement are exempt from the income test (section 8(8)(zc) Social Security Act 1991).

Note: payments that are exempt from the income test are included in a direct deduction rate, for example, under an agreement rate calculation or for Special Benefit (SpB).

Under the Agreement, Canadian Guaranteed Income Supplement and the equivalent allowance paid to partners of Old Age Security pensioners are exempt for customers outside Australia.

Agreed federal, provincial or territorial welfare payments are also exempt for customers outside Australia. Policy is that Canada Pension Plan Death Benefit is not considered to be income. See Other known payments. This also applies to autonomous customers.

The Eligibility and coding tab contains detailed information on the coding of Canadian payments covered by the Agreement.

Note: CPP Post Retirement Benefit (PRB) and Post Retirement Disability Benefit (PRDB) are coded as CPA. A review must be set to remove PRDB at age 65.

In Customer First, create a manual review on the Review Registration (RVR) screen and complete the fields as follows:

• Service Reason: customer's payment type
• Review Reason: OSR (Overseas)
• Due Date: date customer turns 65 years old
• Source: INT
• Date of Receipt: today's date
• Notes: 'Customer is 65. Zero the CPP Post Retirement Benefit (PRB) / Post Retirement Disability Benefit (PRDB) coded as CPA on FPD.'
• Keywords: IATREV
• Workgroup: leave blank
• Position: leave blank
• Transfer to Region: leave blank

The review will mature on the Due Date coded in the RVR activity. Workload Management will allocate the review for manual action.

The allowance paid to widows/widowers or a partner of Old Age Security pensioners is coded as Type: ‘AGE’. The amount that is the equivalent of the Guaranteed Income Supplement is coded in the Social/Welfare Amt field and the remainder is coded in the Basic Amount field.

If necessary, CPP Children’s Benefits are coded as the equivalent CPP payment in the Basic Amount field:

• type: ‘CPS’ if paid to children of deceased contributors, or
• type: ‘CPI’ if paid to children of disabled contributors

Ensure ‘Children’s Benefit’ is coded in the Desc 1 field to identify clearly.

Reviews must be set as payments generally cease at the child’s 18th birthday (25 if still a full-time student).

The Agreement does not include embargo provisions.

Arrears debts for customers and their partners are raised under s1228A Social Security Act 1991 and recovered via normal methods under the Act. See Comparable Foreign Payment (CFP) lump sum arrears.

Note: where an arrears period is not provided, Canada have confirmed that it is always the period from the start date of the pension until the end of the month preceding the first regular payment.

A contravention debt may also occur if the customer does not advise of the grant of their Canadian payment within their notification period. See Foreign pension coding.

Life certificates are not issued by Canada.

Customers in Australia are sent notices at grant and will receive an annual statement for tax purposes (NR4) in Canadian dollars in February each year.

The NR4 is for tax purposes and details the amounts received for the previous calendar year. CPP amounts for the previous year may be derived by dividing by 12, however Old Age Security amounts are indexed four times a year and cannot be derived.

Both CPP and Old Age Security cheque payments show the Canadian dollar amount on the cheque butt, however, the cheques are issued in Australian dollars.

Equivalent to CPP payments:

• Retirement Pension - Type: ‘QPA’
• Disability Pension - Type: ‘QPI’
• Survivors Pension - Type: ‘QPS’

Assessment: Ordinary income

Coding

On the Foreign Pension Details (FPD) screen, Type: (see above), code in Basic Amount field.

Assessment: Exempt income if outside Australia (Article 7.1(a)(iii))

Note: not paid outside Canada. Coding should be reviewed if customer is in Australia.

Coding

On the Foreign Pension Details (FPD) screen, code in Social/Welfare Amt field with the main Canadian payment.

For assistance with coding:

• other generic benefits paid by the Canadian Government (including by funds not covered by the Agreement), see Foreign pension coding
• any other income received from Canada, see Foreign income and assets