Retiring overseas with a health condition: insurance and medicines

The order of decisions for you

This is general information only. Whether a trip suits your health is for your doctor and an insurer to say. These are the steps in order, so nothing gets missed.

1. Talk to your doctor first. Smartraveller suggests a check-up at least 8 weeks before you go. Ask whether the length of stay and the place suit your condition, and what to do if it changes while you’re away.
2. Get a letter for your medicines. It lists each medicine, its strength and the daily dose. Some medicines need a Medicine Export Declaration instead, and some can’t be exported at all. The PBS medicine line is 1800 500 147. Our guide to taking PBS medicines overseas has the detail.
3. Check every country on the route. A medicine that’s legal here may be restricted where you land or change planes.
4. Take enough for the whole stay. You can’t use the PBS overseas, and nobody can post PBS medicine to you. Keep medicines in their original packs.
5. Get insurance quotes with every condition declared. Ask how each condition is treated (covered, excluded, or covered for an extra premium) and whether the policy covers getting you home if you’re unwell. Our guide to travel insurance for long stays covers the age limits too.
6. Know where care is. Find the nearest hospital and a clinic before you need one, and keep your insurer’s emergency number with you. Medicare does not cover you overseas, and Smartraveller says care overseas can cost much more than in Australia.
7. Plan around the Concession Card. If you’re on the Age Pension, your Pensioner Concession Card is cancelled after 6 weeks away.
8. Choose places where care is easier to arrange. These suit people managing a condition:
   • New Zealand: a reciprocal health care agreement covers medically necessary public care. Services Australia says it covers prescribed medicines for hospital inpatients only.
   • Penang: 90 days on arrival allows a trial without a visa application.

A worked example

An example, not a real person.

Alan is 72 and lives in Bendigo with his wife Rosa. He has a long-term heart condition, well managed with three daily medicines. They get the maximum couple rate of the Age Pension and want ten weeks in Penang.

	Amount
Their Age Pension, couple maximum (A$1,866.00 a fortnight combined)	about A$4,040 a month
A month in Penang for a couple, rent included (our estimate)	about A$2,540 a month

Pension rate from Services Australia (20 September 2026). How we worked out our estimate: Numbeo’s living costs for one person (without rent), plus a one-bedroom city-centre rent, plus 30% for eating out, local trips and extras. For a couple we multiply living costs by 1.8. We converted at the Reserve Bank of Australia’s average exchange rate for the 12 months to September 2026 (A$1 = 2.80 ringgit, for example). Health insurance isn’t included. Numbeo’s Penang page was last updated 15 October 2026. With a declared heart condition, the premium depends on the insurer.

What Alan does, in order:

• Eight weeks before: he has a check-up with his GP, who agrees the trip suits his condition and writes a letter listing all three medicines.
• Seven weeks before: he checks each medicine is allowed in Malaysia, and in Singapore, where they change planes.
• Six weeks before: he gets three insurance quotes with his condition declared. One insurer excludes it and one declines him altogether, while the third covers it for an extra premium. He reads what each covers before choosing.
• Before leaving: he fills ten weeks of prescriptions while his Concession Card is still current, and packs them in the original boxes.
• In Penang: on day one he notes where the nearest hospital is.

What to ask a professional

• Your GP or specialist: “Is this trip, for this long, suitable for my condition?” “What should my medicine letter include?”
• Insurance broker: “How does each insurer treat my condition: covered, excluded or extra premium?” “Does the policy cover getting me home if my condition flares up?” “What do I need to tell the insurer if my health changes before I leave?”
• Pharmacist: “Can I take enough of each medicine for the whole trip, and does any of mine need an export declaration?”
• The country’s embassy: “Are any of my medicines restricted, and do I need a permit to bring them in?”

Book a free planning session on Zoom. Once we know your situation, we can tell you which of these people to start with.