How It Works
This information is intended as a guide only. If you think you may be entitled to a benefit you should lodge a claim.
- When did the Agreement start?
- What does the Agreement do?
- What payments are covered by the Agreement?
- Why do we have a social security agreement?
- What does Australia do under the Agreement?
- What does Cyprus do under the Agreement?
- What are the most important things to know about the Australian social security system?
- How are pensions calculated under the Agreement?
- Where and how can people lodge claims for social security pensions?
- When does payment start?
- How do I find out more?
When did the Agreement start?
The Agreement started on 1 January 1993.
What does the Agreement do?
Under the Agreement, Australia and Cyprus share the responsibility for paying pensions to people who would not otherwise be entitled because they do not have enough residence in Australia or sufficient periods of insurance in Cyprus. It also helps people who could not otherwise claim because they are living abroad.
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What payments are covered by the Agreement?
The social security payments covered by the Agreement are as follows:
Australia
- age pension
- disability support pension for the severely disabled
- pensions payable to widows
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- widow B pension (no new grants since 20 March 1997)
- parenting payment (single)
- bereavement allowance
- carer payment
Cyprus
- age pension
- invalidity and work-related disablement benefit
- widow’s pension
- orphan’s benefit
- funeral grant
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Why do we have a social security agreement?
Unlike the contributory systems of many other countries, Australia’s social security system is non-contributory and based on the concepts of residence and need. There is no requirement for a person to have worked, or paid taxes or contributions to receive benefits.
The Social Security Agreement between Australia and Cyprus coordinates the two countries' social security schemes to provide better retirement income coverage for people who have moved between the two countries.
People who have lived in more than one country often find that, when they claim a pension, they do not have enough residence or contributions under a social security scheme to qualify for payment or have insufficient support.
To help overcome this problem, a network of social security agreements has been set up within the international community.
One of the key elements in these agreements is that the partner countries broadly share the responsibility for social security coverage and related costs. If a person has lived and worked in more than one country, then it is fair that those countries share the responsibility for supporting that person when he/she claims a pension.
Agreements help many people to receive a part pension from one or both countries, which they would not otherwise get. It is an important principle that Agreements do not take away existing entitlements.
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What does Australia do under the Agreement?
To qualify for an Australian pension, people normally have to be Australian residents and in Australia on the day a claim for pension is lodged, and they usually must also have a minimum period of residence in Australia. For example, a person needs to have at least 10 years Australian residence to claim an Australian Age Pension.
The Agreement modifies these rules so that:
- Australia will treat someone who is resident in Cyprus (or a third country with which Australia has implemented an agreement on social security that includes provision for co-operation in the lodgement and determination of claims for benefits) as being a resident of Australia and present in Australia, so that the person can lodge a claim for Australian pension;
- Australia will add the person's periods of insurance in Cyprus to his or her Australian residence so that the person can meet the minimum residence qualifications to get an Australian age pension;
- Australia guarantees to pay pensions covered in the Agreement indefinitely in Cyprus, as long as the person otherwise remains entitled.
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What does Cyprus do under the Agreement?
Cypriot legislation requires minimum insurance periods to qualify for benefits. Under the Agreement, periods of working life residence in Australia (since 7 January 1957) are treated as insurance periods in Cyprus to meet these minimum insurance period requirements.
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What are the most important things to know about the Australian social security system?
All claimants for Australian pensions need to meet all qualifications (e.g. age and residence) required for that pension under Australia's social security laws. Australian pensions are also means tested, that is, income and assets tests are applied, and whichever produces the lower rate is used for assessment. Centrelink has information about the current income and assets tests limits.
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How are pensions calculated under the Agreement?
Australian pensions
People who live in Australia, who are granted an Australian pension under the Agreement (because of lack of qualifying residence), receive the normal means-tested pension less the amount of any Cypriot pension they also receive - ie, the Cypriot pension would be 'topped-up' to the rate of Australian pension they would receive if they had no Cypriot pension. Once a person qualifies for an Australian pension in his or her own right (without needing the Agreement) any Cypriot pension is treated as income in the normal way.
Australian pensions in Cyprus will be based on the person’s period of ‘Australian Working Life Residence’ [this is the period between age 16 and Age Pension age]. A full pension, subject to the means-test, is payable to a person with 25 years ‘Australian Working Life Residence’. For example, under the Agreement, a man who has lived in Australia from age 30 to age 50 (ie 20 years) may, at age 65, be paid 20/25ths of a means-tested Australian age pension in Cyprus. A minimum of 12 months of Australian Working Life Residence is normally required.
Under the Agreement, when a pension is paid overseas at a proportional rate, only the same proportion of any contributory Cypriot pension received is counted as income for the income test. This also applies to pensions granted without the assistance of the Agreement.
Non-contributory Cypriot welfare benefits are disregarded from the normal Australian income test for Cypriot residents.
Cypriot pensions
The amount of Cypriot pension payable will be determined under the legislation of Cyprus, and is generally based on the periods of insurance completed in the Cypriot social insurance scheme.
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Where and how can people lodge claims for social security pensions?
In Australia
People living in Australia can lodge claims for Australian and Cypriot pension with any Centrelink office.
In Cyprus
People living in Cyprus can lodge claims with any office of the Cypriot Department of Social Insurance Services.
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When does payment start?
In Australia's case, payment starts from the date the claim is lodged, or if the claim is lodged early, the date the person qualifies for payment. Age pension claims can be lodged up to three months in advance of qualification.
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How do I find out more?
For more information, please contact FaHCSIA International Branch.
For information on claim procedures and payments, please contact Centrelink International Services or call Centrelink International Services on 13 1673. You can write to:
Centrelink International Services
GPO Box 273
HOBART TAS 7001