Can I take my Age Pension overseas? The 2026 rules for Australians

Can I get the Age Pension if I live overseas?

Yes. Services Australia says you may be able to get the Age Pension for the whole time you are outside Australia, even if you leave to live in another country.

The extras on top of the pension change the longer you’re away, and after a while so can the rate, depending on how long you’ve lived in Australia. You don’t need to pick a country that has an agreement with Australia: the rules below apply wherever you go, with a special set for New Zealand. Our guide to the 6, 12 and 26-week rules goes through each step.

Your situation	What happens to your Age Pension
A trip of up to 6 weeks	Your rate usually stays the same.
After 6 weeks away	The Energy Supplement stops. Your Pensioner Concession Card is cancelled.
After 12 weeks away	The Pension Supplement stops.
After 26 weeks away	If you were an Australian resident for less than 35 years between age 16 and Age Pension age, you usually get a lower, proportional rate.
You leave to live in another country	From the day you leave, you get the outside-Australia rate. The Energy Supplement, Pension Supplement and Pensioner Concession Card all stop. Our guide to moving overseas for good covers this.

How much Age Pension is paid overseas in 2026?

Less than at home, because the supplements drop away. Here are the maximum amounts before tax, from 20 September 2026.

Per fortnight	Single	Couple (combined)
Maximum rate in Australia	A$1,237.70	A$1,866.00
Overseas 6 to 12 weeks (no Energy Supplement)	A$1,223.60	A$1,844.80
Overseas more than 12 weeks, or living overseas (base rate only)	A$1,135.40	A$1,711.80

Services Australia sets the outside-Australia rate at A$29,520.40 a year for a single person and A$44,506.80 for a couple who are both eligible: about A$2,460 and A$3,710 a month. Those are maximums. The income and assets tests still apply while you’re away, and they count anything you hold overseas as well.

This changed on 20 September 2026. Before then, the Pension Supplement dropped to a small basic amount after 6 weeks away and kept paying. Now it is paid in full for 12 weeks, then stops completely. If you move overseas, it stops on the day you leave. Budgets built on the old rules will be too high. Our guide to living overseas on the Age Pension sets the base rate against what a month costs in six places.

Can I claim the old age pension from overseas?

Generally no. Services Australia says that on the day you claim, you must be living in Australia, physically in Australia and an Australian resident. The exception is a claim under a social security agreement, and Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines are not on Services Australia’s lists of agreement countries. Our guide on why you claim before you leave goes through it.

What is the 26-week rule?

After 26 weeks away, your rate depends on your “Australian working life residence”: the years you lived here between age 16 and Age Pension age. If you have 35 years or more, your rate usually stays put. Under that, Services Australia says you usually get a proportional rate: 10 years, for instance, gets you 10/35ths of your usual rate.

A savings rule covers some people who were already getting a payment while living overseas on 1 July 2014. Your payment may also be protected if a serious illness, a public health crisis or a natural disaster stops you coming home.

An example, not real people. Margaret moved to Australia at 40 and reached Age Pension age at 67, which gives her 27 years of working life residence. She’s single, owns her home, gets the maximum rate and spends a year in Penang.

Time away	Her fortnightly pension
First 6 weeks	A$1,237.70
Weeks 7 to 12	A$1,223.60
Weeks 13 to 26	A$1,135.40
After 26 weeks	About A$875.88 (27/35ths of A$1,135.40)

Services Australia’s operational guidance says a proportional rate generally stops being proportional from the date you return, so her rate would go back up once she’s home (returning to Australia has more on that). The example assumes her income and assets don’t reduce her pension. Her real figure would come from Services Australia.

Do I need to tell Centrelink before I go overseas?

Yes, in some cases. Services Australia says you need to tell them if any of these apply:

• you are going to live in another country
• you will be away for more than 6 weeks, including a cruise into international waters
• you get the Age Pension under a social security agreement
• you are leaving within 2 years of coming back to live here, and started the pension since then
• you or your partner earn income from work.

Tell them online through myGov, on the Older Australians line (132 300) or at a service centre. Australia’s immigration department also lets Services Australia know when you leave and when you get back.

What is the 2-year rule?

It catches people who came back to live in Australia and then claimed the pension. Say you return to live, start getting the Age Pension, then go overseas within 2 years: Services Australia says your payment may stop. Going to a country with a social security agreement with Australia may let it continue.

Is New Zealand different?

Yes, because Australia has a social security agreement with New Zealand. If you go there to live, or plan to stay more than 12 months, Services Australia says your payment may change from the day you arrive. For a shorter stay it may change after 26 weeks there.

What this means for you depends on

• How many years you lived in Australia between age 16 and Age Pension age.
• Whether you are going for a trip or moving to live overseas. Moving changes things from the day you leave.
• Your income and assets, including anything you hold overseas, and rent if you let out your home.
• Whether you came back to live in Australia in the last 2 years.
• Whether your partner is also on the pension, and whether they travel with you.
• Where you are going: New Zealand and the social security agreement countries have their own rules.

This is general information, not advice. For your own figures, talk to Services Australia or their free Financial Information Service. You’re also welcome to book a free planning session on Zoom, and once we know your situation we can tell you who to ask.