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Pension questions

Australia pension questions

These are the questions people search about a pension left in Australia. Each page answers its question in the first two sentences, and we show those two sentences below, read from the official source with the date we read it. We identify where a pension is likely held and the route to it. We do not give advice.

English

  • What happens to my Australian super after I leave Australia?

    The money does not disappear when you leave, but it does move. Six months after the later of your departure and your visa ceasing to be in effect, the fund hands the balance to the Australian Taxation Office, and the fund that holds your records stops being the counterparty.

    • Source: ato.gov.au, read 3 October 2026

  • Can I get my super back after leaving Australia?

    Temporary residents: super moves to the ATO six months after leaving Australia. The person can then apply to the ATO for it as a DASP.

    • Source: ato.gov.au, read 1 September 2026

  • How do I find lost super from overseas?

    To see what is held in your name you must sign in to ATO online services through myGov, and to link myGov to the ATO you must answer identity questions built from your Australian paperwork. The sign-in layer adds its own problem, since a text code needs an Australian mobile number.

    • Source: ato.gov.au, read 3 October 2026

  • How much super is held for people who left Australia?

    The ATO publishes how much is sitting there. As at 30 June 2026 it held 1,004,000 superannuation accounts for former temporary residents alone, worth 1.08 billion Australian dollars, because nobody has applied for them, part of 21.2 billion Australian dollars across just under 7.5 million accounts nationally.

    • Source: ato.gov.au, read 3 October 2026

  • Did my employer pay super while I was on a temporary visa?

    Your employer was almost certainly paying into a superannuation fund for you, and the ATO states that this generally does not depend on your visa so long as you had work rights. The rate is 12.00 per cent of ordinary time earnings for 2026-27, and it was 11.50 per cent in 2024-25.

    • Source: ato.gov.au, read 3 October 2026

  • Can I get the Australian Age Pension living overseas?

    Age pension paid overseas is proportionalised against Australian Working Life Residence once a person has been outside Australia for more than 26 weeks. Pension Supplement reduces to the basic amount once a person has travelled outside Australia for more than 6 weeks.

    • Source: guides.dss.gov.au, read 1 September 2026
    • Source: servicesaustralia.gov.au, read 1 September 2026

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