Disability Pensioners Living Overseas

[icyfroth]

This was being discussed on the breakfast show this moring:

THOUSANDS of Australian disability pensioners are receiving taxpayers' money to live overseas, many in places best known as holiday destinations.

Australians are paying $100 million a year to fund 7300 recipients of the disability pension living overseas.

Official figures show the greatest number, more than 1200, live in Greece, while hundreds more live in Turkey, Croatia, Thailand and New Zealand.

The Philippines and areas of Indonesia, including 83 people in Bali, are among the other destinations where Australian disability pensioners are living at a cost to the taxpayer of $99.9 million a year, News Corp reports.

Social Service Minister Kevin Andrews has told News Corp he has asked for information clarifying residency requirements for such pensioners, saying he's concerned some pension recipients may be choosing to live overseas for lifestyle reasons at the expense of taxpayers.

The federal government now disallows the pension for those who are overseas for more than six weeks.

From Here

The consensus of callers invited to comment felt that disability pensioners should be living in Australia. That is my opinion also. $100 mil for aussie pensioners living overseas permanently is money that's not going back into the Aus economy.

[icyfroth]

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@boris1gary wrote:

for goodness sake,  lets go after those people on the DSP living abroad, how dare they.....meanwhile....lets cheer the fabulous wealthy tax evaders........but lets focus on a very small number of disabled people who for reasons UNKNOWN to us are living abroad.

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SINGAPORE might cover an area of just 712 square kilometres, but it is fast becoming a tax haven for rich Australians. The attractions are large. Capital gains are not taxed. Individuals are only taxed on income earned directly in Singapore, and for the super wealthy, there are no inheritance taxes.

Mining magnate Gina Rinehart — the largest shareholder in Fairfax Media — is the latest to buy up big in the city state. The billionaire has reportedly spent $S57 million ($A43.8 million) on two units, off the plan, in the Seven Palms Sentosa Cove condominium project.

But Mrs Rinehart is not the first Australian mining magnate to head to Singapore. Billionaire Nathan Tinkler of Whitehaven Coal recently put his plans for a $13 million beachfront pad in Newcastle on hold and moved his family to Singapore.

A number of wealthy Australians including Brett Blundy, Nathan Tinkler and Joseph Gutnick have also recently packed up and moved there.

Australian companies including BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, ANZ and Visy Industries are taking advantage of Singapore’s regional location and increasingly leveraging the high Australian dollar to source materials from Asia. BHP now has more people in its Singapore office than its Melbourne head office.

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Do try to stay on topic, Boris.

[freakiness]

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@icyfroth wrote:

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Do try to stay on topic, Boris and silverfaun.

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 fixed it for you.

[mugssy65]

Yep sorry I missed the disability bit!
But it's my understanding that aged pensioners are no longer able to live abroad either.

[cherry*135]

In 2012 new rules for disability support pensioners - if assessed as having NO FUTURE WORK CAPACITY can remain outside Australia indefinitely.

I presume that rule is still valid.

If so you would think who ever wrote that article would have found that out and included it in the story.

People might not agree with this rule but those DSPers living oseas who can do so if they are eligible arent doing anything shifty.

If they have no future work capacity then they wouldn't be required in Australia to be actively seeking work.

[lakeland27]

Historically greece and australia have an agreement on pensions. workers who spent most or part of their working life in greece have pensions or part -pensions paid here by the greek government. it works likewise in reverse under the agreement. people retiring to greece who worked all of their life paying australian taxes have it paid by the australian government . disability is no different, if the same family have a disabled son .. an australian citizen and they choose to take him with them to greece why prevent them ? should they leave him in a nursing home here ?  the minister is either being disingenuous or has no idea.

[cherry*135]

Aged pensioners living overseas. .different factors..some countries have reciprocal agreements with Australia , depends on how long the person has lived in Aust before date a person is eligible for an aged pension. Quite complicated.

[cherry*135]

LL - the Minister has no idea. Wouldn't have taken his staff long to check the rules before commenting.

[lakeland27]

it is quite complicated.

[icyfroth]

I'm pretty sure it would be made subject to circumstance, Lakes.

[freakiness]

7500 people out of how many million?

Why is this even an issue?

It's just another one of those things designed to get Aussie people hating on other Aussie people.

Drive in the wedges. get the whispers about each other happening over the fences and bars across the country.  Get people so busy hating and distrusting each other that they fail to notice what the Loons and friends are up to.