Eligibility and coding of foreign pensions from non-agreement countries 106-08050000

The requirement to claim a foreign pension from the UK applies to UK State Retirement Pension.

UK State Retirement Pension is generally administered by the Pension Service as part of the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP).

Qualifying age: 66

Note: the foreign pension age calculator is available through the Residence and International homepage.

Minimum qualifying period: 10 years contributions (National Insurance – NI).

Note: different rules may apply to:

• males born before 6 April 1951, or
• females born before 6 April 1953

Customers will need to contact the UK foreign pension authorities for details.

Deferred Lump Sums

In some circumstances, customers may be entitled to an increased rate of UK State Retirement Pension if they delay claiming after reaching qualifying age. UK DWP will offer either an increase to the weekly rate of pension or a lump sum payment based on the period from which the customer became eligible to claim, and the date of the deferred claim.

As these calculations are generally made after the initial grant of pension, the lump sum (if the customer chooses this instead of a weekly rate increase) is issued in addition to the initial lump sum arrears payment. This payment must be coded and assessed for the earlier period they cover.

Note: Customers cannot defer claiming the UK State Retirement Pension if they are required to claim under CFP legislation.

Language

English is the most widely spoken and de facto official language of the United Kingdom. Scottish Gaelic is the official language in Scotland, and Welsh in Wales.

Payment method and frequency

UK pensions are generally paid in Australia by direct deposit.

Pensions are generally paid 4 weekly (13 times a year) but notices usually provide a weekly rate and so should be coded as 1WE unless otherwise indicated.

Notices

Notices are issued at grantor when a rate revision has occurred.

Indexation (CPI)

UK pensions are generally indexed for CPI in April each year.

UK only apply indexation of UK pensions in certain countries. Customers residing and located in Australia do not have their UK pensions indexed.

Some UK payments may be updated automatically. See International Data Exchange Program and auto-indexation of foreign pensions.

Customer visiting UK receiving temporary pension increase

A customer in receipt of a UK pension visiting the UK can receive an increase to their UK pension while they are present in the UK.

On return to Australia, their UK pension reduces back to the normal rate they were paid before they left Australia.

If a customer contacts about the rate of pension being maintained:

• code the lower rate the customer received from date of return to Australia
• ask the customer to provide evidence from the UK authorities showing the rate they were paid while in the UK

See Non-Agreement Country Document Catalogue (N-ACDC) for samples of UK pension documents.

Life certificates from the UK are issued annually.

• UK Life Certificates can be certified by an officer of Services Australia
• Certified UK life certificates can only be sent via post

See Non-Agreement Country Document Catalogue (N-ACDC) for samples of UK pension documents.

For general information on helping customers with life certificates, see Assisting customers to claim a foreign pension.

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

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

See general information on taxation, including issuing Australian payment summaries.

Australia has a double tax agreement with the United Kingdom, which avoids the need for the customer to pay tax in both countries.

A person who is 'resident' in one country (according to the definition in the tax agreement) generally only pays tax on pensions in that country.

Tax deductions from income by one country may be allowed as a credit against tax payable in the other country.

UK pensions are not generally taxed at source.

The gross rate of UK pension, before any deduction, is maintained.

UK uses the period 6 April-5 April as the tax year.

GB

For:

• UK State Retirement Pension, code: AGE

The UK State Retirement Pension is generally paid by the Pension Service as part of the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP).

For other retirement/old-age pensions paid by any other UK authority, see Any other income from UK.

Note: UK State Retirement Pensions granted on the basis of a deceased spouse’s contributions are to be coded as AGE. Where a rate increase to an existing State Retirement Pension has been applied on the same basis, the AGE pension is maintained but with the new rate updated. Bereavement period exemption may apply.

• Additional State Pension or Graduated Benefit -
• as a separate payment, code: AGE
• as part of UK State Retirement Pension, see Basic Amount: field
• Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit, code: INV
• exempt payment If paid before 1 March 2001 under the former UK agreement to person residing in the UK, code: CAR
• Pension Credit, code: GPC

This is paid as savings credit (see Basic Amount: field) or guarantee credit (see Social/Welfare Amt: field).

• Attendance Allowance, Constant Attendance Allowance, Personal Independence Payments, Clothing Allowance, Decoration Allowance and Mobility Supplement, code: CAR
• War Disablement Pension, War Widows Pension and Temporary Allowance for Widows, code: WAR

Some War Pension recipients may also receive exempt allowances/supplements, for example, Attendance Allowance.

• Deferred lump sum, code: AGE

This payment must be coded manually. The Foreign pension script cannot be used to record a Deferred lump sum.

For:

• Pension Credit, code: Pension Credit
• CAR Allowances and Supplements, code payment name (eg. Attendance Allowance)
• War pension payments, code payment name (eg. War Disablement Pension)
• Exempt INV payment, code: Article 18INV
• Deferred lump sum, code: Deferred lump sum

Otherwise, leave blank.

Code the 8-character National Insurance Number (NIN).  

• Format: aannnnnn  

Note: the last alpha is not coded. For example, YP12345X is coded as: YP12345.

Leave blank.

Leave blank.

GBP (Pound Sterling)

For:

• Retirement payments and Pension Credit, code: 1WE
• Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit, code as indicated on the payment notice (1WE, 4WE or ANN)
• CAR allowances and supplements and War pensions, code either 4WE or ANN
• Deferred lump sum, leave blank

For deferred lump sum amounts, record the start date of the period this payment covers.

For deferred lump sum amounts, record the end date of the period this payment covers.

For:

• Pension Credit, code gross savings credit amount if paid. Else, leave blank
• Additional State Pension or Graduated Benefit added as part of a UK State Retirement Pension, add amount to existing Age amount

For all other payments code the gross amount as indicated on the Notice of Grant or official pension statement.

For:

• Pension Credit, code gross guarantee credit amount if paid. Else, leave blank
• All other payments, leave blank

This payment has replaced the following benefits:

• Widow’s Pension
• Widowed Parent’s Allowance
• Bereavement Allowance
• Bereavement Payment

It is paid as a lump sum. In some cases, a person may also receive a monthly payment for a set period (from a few months up to 18 months). The customer will need to advise when their monthly payment ceases.

Assessment:

Policy advice is that the Bereavement Support Payment may be exempt from the income test if payable to the person who incurred expenses associated with the bereavement. Otherwise, the:

• Foreign non-remunerative lump sum is assessed as ordinary income over 12 months from date of receipt (s1073 Social Security Act 1991), or
• monthly payment is assessed as ordinary income

Coding:

• If exempt, do not code. Record details in a DOC
• If the lump sum is assessable income: see Treatment of lump sums
• If the monthly payment is assessable, on the Foreign Pensions Details (FPD) screen, code:
• Country: field as GB
• Type: field as OPN (OPN = Other Social Security when using the Foreign Pension Script)
• Description 1: field with Bereavement Support Payment
• Ref 1: field with the 8-character National Insurance Number (NIN)
• Description 2: and Ref 2: fields, leave blank
• Currency: field with GBP (Pound Sterling)
• Frequency: field as 4WE
• Basic Amount: field with gross amount indicated on the payment notice

Assessment:

Policy advice is that these payments are not assessable.

Coding:

Not coded. Record details in a DOC.

Assessment:

On 20 March 2024, the Minister for Social Services approved the personal care support schemes from the United Kingdom and Scotland under section 35A of the Social Security Act. As approved schemes, they are exempt from the social security income test under subsection 8(8)(zi) of the Act.

Payments exempt under this section include:

• Social Security (Personal Care Support) (United Kingdom Government Personal Independence Payment) Determination 2013
• Social Security (Personal Care Support - Attendance Allowance and Disability Living Allowance - United Kingdome) Determination 2018.
• Social Security (Adult Disability Payment) (Scottish Government Personal Care Support)
• Social Security (Child Disability Payment) (Scottish Government Personal Care Support)

Coding:

Not coded. Record details on a DOC.

For assistance with coding:

• other government payments, see Foreign pension coding
• other private payments (for example, occupation-based pensions such as Teachers, Police, NHS, Civil Service, or pensions for local council or government employees), see Foreign income and assets

Bosnia and Herzegovina consist of 2 entities – Federacija and Republika Srpska and 1 condominium - the self-governing administrative district of Brčko.

Each entity has its own pension fund:

• Federacija – FZ MIO/PIO
• Federalni zavod za mirovinsko invalidsko osiguranje (in Croatian)
• Federalni zavod za penzijsko invalidsko osiguranje (in Bosnian)
• Federal pension and disability institute
• Republika Srpska – Fond PIO RS
• Fond za penzijsko i invalidsko osiguranje Republike Srpske (in Latin script)
• Фонд пензијског и инвалидског осигурања Републике Српске (in Cyrillic script)
• Fund for pension and disability insurance Republika Srpska

District of Brčko does not have a pension fund. Instead, the customer living and working in this district chooses where their contributions are to be paid to - FZ MIO/PIO or Fond PIO RS.

Bosnia and Herzegovina pension funds can be identified by the location of their office which is stated on their notices:

• Federacija (FZ MIO/PIO) - Sarajevo, Mostar, Bihač, Goražde, Ljubuški, Livno, Orašje, Travnik, Tuzla, Zenica.
• Documents are only in the Latin script
• Republika Srpska (Fond PIO RS) - Banja Luka, Bijeljina, Doboj, Istočno Sarajevo, Prijedor, Trebinje.
• Documents can be written in either the Latin on Cyrillic script
• Brčko – has both a FZ MIO/PIO and Fond PIO RS office

Each pension fund determines pension eligibility and rate of pension based on their entity’s legislation and policies.

Customers can be entitled to a pension from both entities.

However, if a customer is paid a pension from both FZ MIO/PIO and Fond PIO RS, the way the pension funds address this differs. Where:

• FZ MIO/PIO is advised
• payment of the Federacija pension will cease immediately.
• customer will be asked to refund pension paid by FZ MIO/PIO.
• Republika Srpska is advised
• they will allow the payment of pension by both funds, without any adverse consequences imposed by Fond PIO RS

Assessing both Bosnian pensions

If a customer advises they:

• are being paid a pension by both Bosnian pension funds, contact the International Agreements team for further advice
• have been granted a pension from both entities, but are only paid by one fund:
• code pension customer is being paid as per Assessment and coding of Bosnian pensions
• for the non-payment pension, record a DOC about what has been advised. Include reference numbers JMG and LBO / Matični broj (MB) and dates of any pension statement scanned to record, if provided, so it can be quickly cross referenced in the future. The subject line should be:
  BA FED FIN NOM (if the Federacija pension has been granted, but not being paid), or
  BA RS FIN NOM (if the Republika Srpska pension has been granted, but is not being paid)

The requirement to claim a foreign pension from Bosnia and Herzegovina applies to Bosnian Age Pension (Starosna penzija /mirovina / Старосна пензија).

Qualifying age: 65 for males and females.

Minimum qualifying period: 180 months contributions.

Language

Bosnia and Herzegovina have 3 official languages: Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian.

Payment method and frequency

Bosnian pensions can be paid in Australia by direct deposit.

Pensions are generally paid monthly.

Notices

Notices are issued at grant. Customers are generally not issued indexation notices.

Customers can ask for a pension statement advising their current rate of pension on demand.

Indexation (CPI)

Pensions in Bosnia and Herzegovina are generally indexed for CPI:

• FZ MIO/PIO - around 15 April each year
• Fond PIO RS - in January each

There may be a second indexation during the year for both funds.

For general information on helping customers with life certificates, see Assisting customers to maintain an existing foreign pension.

• Life certificates (Potvrda o životu) are required annually but are not issued to customers by Bosnia and Herzegovina. Each Bosnian pension fund has their own life certificate. See Non-Agreement Country Document Catalogue (N-ACDC) for samples of Bosnian life certificates. Customers can also either:
• download the life certificates from the respective fund’s website (FZ MIO/PIO or Fond PIO RS), or
• contact the Bosnian embassy or consulate in Australia.
• Life certificate must be:
• received by end of the calendar year (between 15 November and 31 December)
• sent by post (not via email or any other medium)
• sent to Federacija – Central office in Mostar or office in Sarajevo, or Republika Srpska – to the office that granted the Bosnian pension
• Bosnian Life Certificates can be certified by an officer of Services Australia

For general information on helping customers with life certificates, see Assisting customers to maintain an existing foreign pension.

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

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

See general information on taxation, including issuing Australian payment summaries..

Australia does not have a tax treaty with Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Bosnian pensions are not generally taxed (porez) at source.

The gross rate of Bosnian pension, before any deductions is maintained.

Bosnia and Herzegovina uses the calendar year (1 January - 31 December) as the tax year.

BA

For:

• Starosna mirovina/penzija / Старосна пензија – Age pension, code: AGE
• Invalidska mirovina/penzija / Инвалидска пензија) – Invalidity pension, code: INV
• Obiteljska mirovina /Porodična penzija / Породична пензија) - Survivor pension, code: SUR
• Naknada za tjelesna/fizička onesposobljenost - Compensation for physical damage, code: OPN
  (OPN = Other Social Security when using the Foreign Pension Script)
• This payment is only paid by Federacija to a person who has been found to have a physical impairment.

For:

• Federacija Age pension, code: FZ MIO/PIO AGE
• Republika Srpska Age pension, code: Fond PIO RS AGE

• Federacija Invalidity pension, code: FZ MIO/PIO INV
• Republika Srpska Invalidity pension, code: Fond PIO RS INV

• Federacija Survivor pension, code: FZ MIO/PIO SUR
• Republika Srpska Survivor pension, code: Fond PIO SUR

• Federacija Physical damages payment, code: Phy. Damages

Code the 10-digit Pension registration number.

For:

• Federacija – Matični broj (MB):
• Format: 1234567890 Note: the number may be 13-digits long and contain 3 leading zeros followed by 10 digits. Ignore the leading zeros: for example, for 0001234567890, record: 1234567890
• Republika Srpska – the 10-digit Lični broj osiguranika (LBO) / Лични број осигураниka (ЛБO)

Leave blank.

For both funds, code the 13-digit Personal Identification Number (JMB / JMБ):

• Format: 0101940111111, where digits:
• 1 and 2 denotes the customer’s day of birth
• 3 and 4 denotes the customer’s month of birth
• 5, 6 and 7 denotes customer’s year of birth (minus the century e.g. 940 for 1940)
• 8 and 9 denotes area customer was registered (e.g. 14 is for Tomislavgrad)
• 10, 11 and 12 denotes combination of gender and ordinal number
• 13 denotes the control number

BAM (Bosnian Convertible Mark)

Note: on pension statements, the currency may be written as KM which indicates BAM.

MTH

Code the gross monthly amount as indicated on the Notice of Grant or official pension statement.

Note: Known Federacija and Republika Srpska indexation (CPI) rates are found on the CFP Rate Calculator via the Residence and International program intranet page.

Leave blank.

For assistance with coding other government payments, see Foreign pension coding.

For assistance with coding other private payments, see Foreign income and assets.

The requirement to claim a foreign pension from China applies to Chinese Old Age Pension (养老金).

Qualifying age:

• Male - 60 years
• Female - 55 years
• Gender X customers will be screened for Chinese Age Pensionat the male qualifying age. A voluntary claim can be issued prior to the customer reaching this age, if requested.

Minimum qualifying period: 180 months contributions

Note: the system will only look at periods in China after 1985 when the pension system was expanded to cover more people and there is more likelihood a person had made contributions.

Language

Official language in China is Standard Chinese or Mandarin (official; Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects and there are many minority languages.

Payment method and frequency

Chinese pensions are generally paid monthly into a Chinese bank account only. China does not issue payment of Chinese pensions directly to Australian bank accounts.

Customers can arrange to transfer money to an Australian account.

Note: Overseas income is not considered blocked just because the country of payment will not allow funds to be transferred out of that country (refer to Blocked income)

Notices

Notices are issued at grant and on indexation.

Indexation (CPI)

Chinese pensions may be indexed for CPI in January each year. Customers may not be advised until May-August of the CPI increase and may receive backdated arrears. See Foreign pension coding..

• Life certificates are issued annually
• Services Australia cannot certify Chinese life certificates. Refer customers to nearest Chinese Embassy or Consulate in Australia

For general information on helping customers with life certificates, see Assisting customers to maintain an existing foreign pension.

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

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

See general information on taxation, including issuing Australian payment summaries.

Australia has a double tax agreement with China, which avoids the need for the customer to pay tax in both countries.

A person who is 'resident' in one country (according to the definition in the tax agreement) generally only pays tax on pensions in that country.

Tax deductions from income by one country may be allowed as a credit against tax payable in the other country.

Chinese pensions are not generally taxed at source.

The gross rate of Chinese pensions, before any deduction, is maintained.

China uses the calendar year (1 January - 31 December) as the tax year.

CN

AGE

Code the appropriate Chinese pension fund district/office name from the pension statement provided (eg. Fuzhou).

Code the 18-digit Chinese personal ID number (身份证号 or 公民身份号码):

Format: nnnnnnYYYYMMDDnngX, where the:

• 1st to 6th digits identifies the customer’s birth region code in China
• 7th -14th digits (YYYYMMDD) indicate the customer’s date of birth
• 15th and 16th digits denote the sequence code
• 17th digit (g) denotes the gender
• male – odd number
• female – even number
• 18th digit (X) denotes the check code

If this number is not provided, record either the:

14-digit Chinese Social Security Number (个人社会保险登记码)

12 alphanumeric character Resident ID Number (居民身份号码)

Leave blank.

Leave blank.

CNY (Chinese Yuan)

MTH

Code the gross monthly amount as indicated on the Notice of Grant or official pension statement.

Leave blank.

For assistance with coding other government payments, see Foreign pension coding.

For assistance with coding other private payments, see Foreign income and assets.

French Age pension is a monthly payment that is commonly paid by Caisse Nationale d'Assurance Vieillesse (CNAV).

CNAV also managed other funds like Caisse d'assurance retraite et de la santé au travail (CARSAT) and Caisse générale de sécurité sociale (CGSS). There are other French pension funds that pay basic age pension, for example, Mutualité Sociale Agricole (MSA) the pension fund for agricultural workers and Régime Social des Indépendants (RSI) for self-employed people.

A customer already had a French age pension and then became widowed, rather than being granted a French survivor pension (Pension de reversion) would likely to have their French Age pension increased to include a survivor (reversion) component.

Customers can receive multiple French age/retirement pensions.

Customers who qualify for a French Age or Survivor pension will generally be eligible for a complementary pension. These payments can be paid by a number of organisations but the most common is AGIRC-ARRCO which is the umbrella organisation for the following complementary/supplementary funds: AG2R LA MONDIALE , MALAKOFF HUMANIS , ALLIANCE PROFESSIONNELLE RETRAITE (AGRICA , AUDIENS , B2V , IRP AUTO , LOURMEL , PRO BTP), KLESIA , IRCEM , APICIL , CRC , CGRR , IRCOM and BTPR.

These payments are usually paid quarterly to recipients in Australia and monthly to recipients in France.

Customers may receive multiple complementary pensions.

The requirement to claim a foreign pension from France applies to French Retirement Pension (Pension de retraite) from the general scheme (régime general).

Note: customers may also qualify for a retirement pension from the complementary scheme (Régime complémentaire). Customers are not required to claim complementary pensions.

Qualifying age: 65 if born before July 1951.

Qualifying age is increasing to 67. A foreign pension age calculator is available through the Residence and International homepage, see Resources page for a link.

Minimum qualifying period: One ‘quarter’ (3 months) contributions.

French pensions are generally paid in Australia by direct deposit.

Pensions are generally paid monthly but outside of France may also be paid quarterly or annually. Notices should be checked for frequency of payment.

Notices are issued at grant and in January each year.

French pensions from the general scheme may be indexed for CPI in January each year. Complementary pensions may be indexed in November each year.

French annual pension certificate (Declaration fiscal revenus)

French pension funds CARSAT and CNAV can issue a document which is similar to the Australian group certificate. It’s called the Declaration fiscal revenus and it is issued annually. It shows the ‘taxable’ amount (this is the net amount). Care has to be taken not to code the net amount (Montant net mensual OR Monant net de l’allocation trimestrielle) and to assess the gross amount.

Customers can request this notice be sent to them but to do this they would need to go to the L’Assurance retraite website or their pension fund and register for their online services.

• French life certificates (attestation d’existance) are issued annually
• French Life Certificates can be certified by an officer of Services Australia
• Where a paper life certificate is not issued by a French fund, the customer can verify their life status online.

For general information on helping customers with life certificates, see Assisting customers to maintain an existing foreign pension.

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

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

See general information on taxation, including issuing Australian payment summaries.

Australia has a double tax agreement with France, which avoids the need for the customer to pay tax in both countries.

A person who is 'resident' in one country (according to the definition in the tax agreement) generally only pays tax on pensions in that country.

Tax deductions from income by one country may be allowed as a credit against tax payable in the other country.

French pensions may be taxed (impôt) at source.

There may be compulsory deductions from each of the benefits, namely the CSG (contribution sociale généralisée, or general social contribution) and the CRDS (contribution au remboursement de la dette sociale or contribution to repay the social debt).

Recipients of French pensions in Australia may have a small deduction for health insurance (cotisation d’assurance maladie). This is usually in the range of:

• 2% to 3% of the age/invalidity/survivor payment for a persons
• up to 4.2% for person in receipt of a complimentary compulsory benefit of the ARRCO-AGIRC schemes

The gross rate of French pension, before any deduction, is maintained.

France uses the calendar year (1 January – 31 December) as the tax year.

FR

For:

• Pension de retraite - Retirement Pension, code: AGE
• Retraite de base – Basic Pension, code: AGE
• Maladie/Invalidité – Invalidity Pension, code: INV
• Pension de réversion – Survivor Pension, code: SUR
• If Retraite de reversion (Survivor component) is paid in addition to an existing AGE or INV pension, see Basic Amount: field
• Retraite Complémentaire - Complementary Pension, code: OPN (OPN = Other Social Security when using the Foreign Pension Script)

Note: France may pay lump sums (versement forfaitaire unique) in lieu of pension.

Foreign non-remunerative lump sums are assessed as ordinary income for 12 months from date of receipt (s1073 Social Security Act 1991). See Treatment of lump sums.

Where a customer is granted a lump sum payment in lieu of an on-going pension payment: If the customer has a claim in progress on the FGS screen, FGD screen must be updated to FIN-NOM when FID coding is completed.

Code the French fund name (eg. CNAV, AGIRC).

Code the 15-digit Numéro de sécurité sociale (No de numéro sécurité sociale) or Dossier number:  

Format: n nn nn nn nnn nnn nn, where the:

• 1st digit denotes the gender:
• male = 1
• female = 2
• 2nd and 3rd digits are the person’s birth year (eg. 94 for 1994)
• 4th and 5th digits are the person’s birth month (eg. 03 for March)
• 6th and 7th digits denote the person’s French birth department code (for a person born outside of France, their code will be: 99)
• 8th to 10th digits denotes the French commune code
• 11th to 13th digits denotes the sequential number
• 14th and 15th digits denote the control number

Leave blank.

Leave blank.

EUR (Euro)

For:

• AGE/INV/SUR pension, code: MTH (or ANN, where indicated)
• Complementary pension, code: 3MT (or MTH if customer is in France or when indicated)

For Retraite de reversion (Survivor component), add amount to the existing basic rate of AGE or INV pension. Do not code as a separate payment.

For all other payments code the gross amount as indicated on the Notice of Grant or official pension statement.

• Note: Indexation (CPI) rates are available for both the main (AGE/INV/SUR) and complementary pensions via the CFP Rate Calculator via the Residence and International homepage. On the drop-down list in the calculator:
• French – Basic – contains main payments indexation rates
• French – ARRCO – contains complementary pension indexation rates
• Care has to be taken not to code the net amount (Montant net mensual OR Monant net de l’allocation trimestrielle). Assess the gross amount.

Leave blank.

Épargne retraite - Retirement Savings ()

May be identified by any of the following paying funds: PERCO, PERP, PRÉFON, ’LOIS MADELIN’.

Retirement savings are private pensions. See Foreign income and assets.

For assistance with coding other government payments, see Foreign pension coding.

For assistance with coding other private payments, see Foreign income and assets

The requirement to claim a foreign pension from the Philippines applies to:

• Social Security System (SSS) Philippines Retirement Pension
• Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) Old Age Pension

Note: The Foreign Pension System auto issues a Request to Claim (RQI) form with default SSS pension fund details as part of the CFP screening process.

Return of RQI

If customer has completed the auto issued RQI form and has not indicated which Philippines fund (GSIS or SSS) they paid contribution to:

• Make a copy of the RQI so it can be sent to both Philippines funds
• Update the FGS screen to indicate RQI has been received and sent overseas.
• 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: OSP (OS Pension Check Exch & Amt)
• Due Date: <+ 2 years from today’s date>
• Source: INT
• Date of Receipt: <today's date>
• Notes: ‘RQI sent to second Philippines pension fund GSIS. <insert today’s date> to check pension eligibility. Check if outcome received from the customer, else contact customer.'
• Keywords: I037FP and RGNWTW. Note: the first keyword starts with a capital i, not number 1
• 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.

Where the customer has clearly indicated the pension fund they paid contributions to, update the Foreign Claim Detail (FGD)screen and send the RQI to that fund. A copy is not required to be sent to the second fund.

Voluntary claim of Philippines pension

Where a customer voluntarily requests to claim a pension from the Philippines, the customer must be asked which fund they paid contribution to. An RQI with the appropriate fund should be issued via the FGD screen.

If the customer is unsure to which fund they paid contributions, code the Foreign Country Office field as: PH1 when coding the FGD screen.

Clearly DOC the customer’s record.

Response from Philippines pension fund

Where an RQI has been sent to both Philippine pension funds and a response has been received from one fund that the customer is not entitled, code the Foreign Claim Summary (FGS) screen with FIN-NOM status to avoid suspension action.

If advice from the second fund is later received that the customer is entitled, delete the FIN-NOM status and replace with the new grant information. Do not delete the manual review until a response has been provided by the second fund.

Where a response is received, and the customer is entitled to the same payment from both funds (eg. Retirement pension from both SSS and GSIS), contact International Agreements team for further advice.Qualifying age: 60.

Minimum qualifying period:

• SSS - 10 years (120 months) contributions
• GSIS - 15 years (180 months) contributions

Language

Filipino and English are the official languages of the Philippines. Tagalog and Cebuano are the most commonly spoken native languages.

Payment method and frequency

Philippines pensions are generally paid into a Philippines bank account. Customers can arrange to transfer money to an Australian account.

Pensions are generally paid monthly but receive an extra payment in December. Monthly amounts should be x 13 and coded as Freq: ‘ANN’.

Notices

Notices are issued at grant and when pensions are indexed.

Indexation (CPI)Philippines pensions are generally indexed for CPI in January each year.

• Life certificates from the Philippines are issued annually for:
• SSS - Annual Confirmation of Pensioners (ACOP)
• GSIS - Annual Pensions Information Revalidation (APIF)
• Philippines Life Certificates can be certified by an officer of Services Australia.
• Life certificate can be for:
• SSS - sent in the post or verified online
• GSIS – sent in the post or verified online.

See Non-Agreement Country Document Catalogue (N-ACDC) for a sample of a GSIS life certificate.

For general information on helping customers with life certificates, see Assisting customers to maintain an existing foreign pension.

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

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

See general information on taxation, including issuing Australian payment summaries.

Australia has a double tax agreement with the Philippines, which avoids the need for the customer to pay tax in both countries.

A person who is 'resident' in one country (according to the definition in the tax agreement) generally only pays tax on pensions in that country.

Tax deductions from income by one country may be allowed as a credit against tax payable in the other country.

Philippines pensions are not generally taxed (buwis) at source.

The gross rate of Philippines pension, before any deduction, is maintained.

The Philippines uses the calendar year (1 January – 31 December) as the tax year.

PH

For:

• Old Age/Retirement Pension, code: AGE
• Partial/Total Disability Pension, code: INV
• Death Benefit (SSS) or Survivorship Pension (GSIS), code: SUR
• Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO) or Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) pension, code: SER

Code the Philippines fund name (eg. SSS, GSIS, PVAO, AFP).

For:

• SSS pensions, code the 10-digit Social Security (SS) Number:
• Format: nn-nnnnnnn-n
• GSIS pension, code the Retirement number.
• The format length can very but generally have the letter A and zeros in it
• Service payments, code reference number provided.

Leave blank.

Leave blank.

PHP (Philippine Peso)

For:

• SSS payment – code: ANN
• Note: Calculate monthly amount x13
• GSIS and Service payment – code: MTH

For all other payments code the gross amount as indicated on the Notice of Grant or official pension statement.

Leave blank.

Assessment: Policy advice is that funeral benefits may be exempt from the income test if payable to the person who incurred expenses associated with the bereavement. Otherwise, the amount is assessed as ordinary income over 12 months from date of receipt (s1073 Social Security Act 1991).

Coding:

If exempt, not coded but details should be recorded in a DOC.

If assessable, see Treatment of lump sums.

For assistance with coding other government payments, see Foreign pension coding.

For assistance with coding other private payments, see Foreign income and assets.

The requirement to claim a foreign pension from Sweden applies to Swedish Old-Age pension (Ålderspension) which is administered by the Swedish Pension Agency Pensionsmyndigheten.

This payment is also known as the national public pension.

This pension is identified as any of following payments:

• Inkomstpension (Income pension)
• Premiepension (Premium pension)
• Garantipension (Guarantee pension) – income tested pension not granted to a person outside of Sweden

A Tilläggspension (Supplementary Pension) is an income-based pension supplement based on the number of years a person worked. It is paid as part of the Old Age pension to a person born between 1938 and 1953.Qualifying age:

• 66 years – if born before 31 December 1959 (qualifies in 2025)
• 67 years – if born from:
• 1 January 1960 (qualifies in 2027)
• 1 January 1961 (qualifies in 2028)
• 1 January 1962 (qualifies in 2029)
• 1 January 1963 (qualifies in 2030)

Minimum qualifying period: 36 months residence or contributions.

Language

The official language of Sweden is Swedish. See Swedish naming conventions and pronunciation.

Payment method and frequency

Swedish pensions may be paid in Australia by direct deposit.

Pensions are generally paid monthly.

Notices

Notices are issued at grant and each year.

Indexation (CPI)Swedish pensions are generally indexed for CPI in January each year.

• Life certificates (Levnadsintyg) from Sweden are issued annually
• Swedish life certificates can be certified by an officer of Services Australia
• Life certificates can be sent in the post or online

See Non-Agreement Country Document Catalogue (N-ACDC) for a sample of Swedish life certificate.

For general information on helping customers with life certificates, see Assisting customers to maintain an existing foreign pension.

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

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

See general information on taxation, including issuing Australian payment summaries.

Australia has a double tax agreement with Sweden, which avoids the need for the customer to pay tax in both countries.

A person who is 'resident' in one country (according to the definition in the tax agreement) generally only pays tax on pensions in that country.

Tax deductions from income by one country may be allowed as a credit against tax payable in the other country.

Note: pensions paid by local councils and to nationals of a country may still be taxable in that country.

Swedish pensions may be generally taxed (skatt).at source

The gross rate of Swedish pension, before any deduction is maintained.

Sweden uses the calendar year (1 Jan – 31 Dec) as the tax year.

SE

Code AGE when any of the following Ålderspension - Old Age Pension types are identified:

• Inkomstpension (Income pension)
• Premiepension (Premium pension)
• Garantipension (Guarantee pension) – income tested pension

Note: Payment are made by Pensionsmyndigheten / Pensions Myndigheten (Swedish Pension Agency). They used to be paid by Försäkringskassan (Social Pension Agency).

Code INV when any of the following Sjukpension/Handikappersättning - Invalidity Pension types are identified:

• Inkomstrelaterad sjukersättning (Earnings-related pension)
• Garantiersättning (Guarantee pension) – income tested pension

Note: Generally paid by the following pension fund – Försäkringskassan (Social Pension Agency)

Code SUR when any of the following Efterlevandepension – Survivor Pension types are identified:

• Änkepension (Widow’s pension)
• Omställningspension (Spouse’s adjustment pension)
• Inkomstrelaterad omställningspension (Earnings-related pension variant)
• Garantiepension till omställningspension (Guarantee pension variant)
• Premiepension (Spouse's premium pension)
• Barnpension (Orphan's pension)
• Efterlevandestöd till barn (Orphan’s allowance)

If any survivor pension type component is paid in addition with an existing AGE or INV pension, see Basic Amount: field

For Tilläggspension - Supplementary pension, see Basic Amount: field

Code an abbreviated version of the Swedish payment name (eg. INKOM+TILL - where both an Inkomstpension and Tilläggspension is paid, GARANT - where only a Garantipension is paid).

Code the 10 or 12-digit Personal Number (Personnummer), when provided:

• Format: YYYYMMDD-bbbX OR YYMMDD-bbbX, where:
• YY(YY)MMDD denotes the customer’s birth date
• the hyphen (-) is used by default; however, when the customer turns 100, the hyphen turns to a plus (+) sign
• bbb denotes the sequential birth number, where the last digit identifies the person gender:
  male – odd number
  female – even number
• X denotes the check digit

Leave blank.

Leave blank.

SEK (Swedish Krona)

MTH

Where:

• Efterlevandepension (Survivor Pension component) has been added to an existing basic rate of AGE or INV pension, add this amount to the existing basic amount. Do not code as a separate payment
• Tilläggspension (Supplementary pension) is stated, add this amount to the main pension (AGE/INV/SUR) amount

For all payments code the gross amount before tax (skatt) as indicated on the Notice of Grant or official pension statement.

Leave blank.

For assistance with coding other government payments, see Foreign pension coding.

For assistance with coding other Private/Occupational Pensions (Tjänstepension), for example, Alecta, Länsförsäkringar, Folksam, AMF, Avanza and Danica, see Foreign income and assets.