Australia Lists 32 Countries Whose Citizens Can Benefit From Pensions and Social Security Agreements
- Australia's Department of Social Services has published a full list of countries that have active social security agreements with the country
- The agreements cover pension and social security entitlements for citizens of 32 nations across Asia, Europe, the Americas, and Australasia
- Notable African countries are absent from the list, meaning citizens from Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa are not covered by the arrangements
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Australia's Department of Social Services has published a full list of countries whose citizens are eligible to benefit from the country's international social security agreements, and the list runs to 32 nations, with no African country included.
Embedded in Australia's domestic legislation, the agreements coordinate pension and social security entitlements between Australia and partner countries. They are particularly relevant for people who have lived or worked in more than one country and need their contribution periods recognised across borders.
Source: UGC
Which countries made Australia's Social Security list
The full list spans four regions; Europe, Australasia, Asia, North America, and South America:
- India
- Japan
- Korea
- New Zealand
- Austria
- Belgium
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Malta
- Netherlands
- North Macedonia
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Serbia
- Slovak Republic
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Switzerland
- Canada
- United States of America
- Chile
Australia: What the agreements mean in practice
For citizens of partner countries, the agreements can meaningfully affect retirement planning and access to social security. They typically allow combining contribution periods from both countries when determining eligibility for payments, preventing individuals from losing out simply because their working lives spanned two different nations.
Australia's Social Security Guide guides decision makers on how each individual agreement is applied in practice, and the text of every agreement is available in Australian domestic legislation.
However, for most of the African continent, no such arrangements currently exist. Citizens of countries including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia, and South Africa are not covered by any agreement with Australia, so they must rely solely on the social security system of the country where they are currently active, without the benefit of cross-border coordination.
See the full list of Australia's current international social security agreements on the Department of Social Services website.
In a similar report, Legit.ng published that Australia announced the country whose citizens can apply for a permanent residency visa treaty pathway.
Portugal publishes countries with bilateral agreements
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that Portugal announced its bilateral agreements with 76 countries across Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
The list includes several African nations, including Nigeria’s neighbours Angola and Benin? Find out which countries made the full list and what Portugal’s international relations department does.
Source: Legit.ng
