Foreign pension claims 106-08010000

A different procedure applies for foreign pension coding.

Unless an exemption applies, social security law requires a person who is in receipt of a designated Australian payment to claim any Comparable Foreign Payment (CFP) that they may be entitled to. Unlike the broader term 'foreign pension', a CFP refers to those foreign pensions that are comparable to Australian pensions on the basis of old age, invalidity or widowhood/survivorship.

Limited information on qualifications for these payments is maintained for decision-making on compulsory claims. For International Agreement countries, refer to Eligibility and coding of foreign pensions (under Process tab) for that country. Although it may be a requirement, the grant of a CFP is in the customer's interest as it generally increases their disposable income due to the income free area and the tapered reduction in the income tests. Foreign pensions paid into Australia also contribute to the overall Australian economy by increasing the foreign currency received into Australia and reducing Australian social security outlays.

Claiming and maintaining a foreign pension is not normally difficult and Services Australia gives assistance free of charge. If in doubt, customers should be encouraged to make a claim.

Where a customer is likely to qualify, the claim is treated as compulsory with ‘requirement to claim’ CFP notices being issued as required by law. A customer who does not take reasonable action to pursue a compulsory claim for a CFP may have their Australian payment suspended.

Foreign pension authorities may also review the entitlement of a person who receives a pension, including a requirement to provide information, for example, life certificates. A customer who does not take reasonable action to maintain their foreign pension will generally be subject to Deprivation rules.

A customer may claim a foreign pension voluntarily at any time. Services Australia also gives assistance free of charge for voluntary claims.

The requirement to claim applies to old-age (AGE)/retirement pensions from:

• agreement countries, and
• certain high volume non-agreement countries

The requirement to claim applies to invalidity (INV)/disability foreign pensions from agreement countries. This is only where invalidity pension is in the scope of the Agreement for that country.

Note: only customers receiving Disability Support Pension (DSP) are screened for foreign INV pensions.

There is no requirement to claim a widowhood (WID)/survivor’s (SUR) pension.

Voluntary claims are issued to the surviving partner where a person who receives a foreign pension from an agreement country dies.

FPS processes automatically assess whether a customer who is in receipt of a designated Australian payment may be entitled to claim a foreign pension and is used to issue claim forms and notices to customers. FPS processes also sets specific reviews to track the progress of a claim from start to finish.

A 'screening' result is derived by comparing factors such as a customer's age and amount of time they have lived in the other country, recorded on the Country of Residence (CRES) screen, to known information about foreign pensions. It is important to record a person’s residence in other countries accurately so they can be appropriately screened for foreign pension entitlement.

Screening is triggered by:

• FPS age review maturing
• New claim or restoration activities
• Changes to CRES screen data, or
• Setting the Severely Disabled: field on the Pension Disability Information (PDI) screen to 'Y'

Note: screening ages for male and female old age/seniority pensions may be different. Where a person identifies as X, the higher age will be used for CFP screening.

A voluntary claim can be issued at any time.

Automatic screening for foreign age pension will only occur 28 days before the customer turns Australian Age Pension age, which will not always be the same date they reach foreign age pension age. Current Carer Payment (CAR) or Disability Support Pension (DSP) customers who have reached foreign age pension age, but have not yet reached Australian Age Pension age, may be issued a foreign age pension claim voluntarily (ISS-VOL). If issuing a VOL claim for foreign age pension for someone who is not yet Australian Age Pension age, a manual review must be created for follow-up/re-issue 28 days before turning Australian Age Pension age. See Assisting customers to claim a foreign pension.

The FPS screening result then determines which letter is sent to the customer. A person in Australia will generally get a CFP notice (letter) with a claim package if they:

• have been screened, and
• must claim a payment from any other agreement country

The package contains an official claim form to complete and lodge with Services Australia.

For the United States and non-Agreement countries, the CFP notice asks the customer to complete a standard proforma (Request for Claim Papers, also known as an RQI). This is sent to the relevant foreign pension authority requesting them to send the necessary claim forms to the customer.

For voluntary claims, the process is the same. However, the letter that accompanies the claim/pro-forma is not a CFP notice.