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 Maltese pension they also receive – ie, the Maltese pension would be ‘topped-up’ to the rate of Australian pension they would receive if they had no Maltese pension. Once a person qualifies for an Australian pension in his or her own right (without needing the Agreement) any Maltese pension is treated as income in the normal way. Australian pensions in Malta 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 pensio
