The cheapest countries to retire on the Australian Age Pension

Super withdrawals from the tax-free component and the taxed element are not taxed in Australia once a person is 60 or older, whether taken as a lump sum or as an income stream, according to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO)⁹.

The untaxed element, most common in public sector funds, is taxed differently. Income streams are taxed at the person's marginal rate, while lump sums are taxed at the marginal rate or 17%, whichever is lower, up to the untaxed plan cap⁹.

Super can be withdrawn once a person turns 65, even if they are still working, or once they reach their preservation age and retire¹⁰. Preservation age is 60 for anyone born from 1 July 1964, and a person who ceases paid employment at 60 or older is treated as retired.

Once super can be accessed, it can stay in super, start an account-based pension, be withdrawn as a lump sum or buy an annuity, according to Moneysmart, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission's (ASIC) guidance site¹¹. Investment earnings are taxed at 15% when left in super and at 0% inside an account-based pension.

Before preservation age, super can be released only in limited circumstances, including on compassionate grounds, for a terminal medical condition, for incapacity and in severe financial hardship¹². Leaving Australia is a listed ground for early access only for temporary residents¹⁰.

India recorded the lowest household consumption price level among the 38 countries compared, at 24.1% of Australia's level in 2025¹³. In an example calculation at that price level, the A$29,520.40 overseas Age Pension bought about as much household consumption in India as A$122,500 would buy in Australia.

Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines followed, with price levels between 32.6% and 37.8% of Australia's¹³. On the same calculation, the overseas pension bought as much in these countries as about A$78,100 to A$90,600 would buy in Australia.

Fiji and North Macedonia had the sixth- and seventh-lowest price levels, at 41.0% and 43.4% of Australia's level respectively¹³. Serbia, Chile and Poland had the eighth- to tenth-lowest price levels, at 53.9%, 54.2% and 58.1% respectively.

Five of the 10 countries with the lowest price levels have a social security agreement with Australia: India, North Macedonia, Serbia, Chile and Poland¹⁴.

Price levels were higher than Australia's in five countries: Norway, the United States, Ireland, Denmark and Switzerland¹³. Switzerland recorded the highest price level among the 38 countries, at 135.8% of Australia's level.

At that level, the overseas pension bought only as much as about A$21,700 would buy in Australia¹³. New Zealand and the United Kingdom had price levels of 94.2% and 97.9% of Australia's respectively.

Of the 38 countries compared, five countries without a social security agreement were reviewed for retirement visas. Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Fiji each publish a retirement or long-stay visa programme open to foreign retirees. Their household price levels were below 42% of Australia's in 2025¹³.

Thailand's retirement visa is for people aged 50 or older and requires a monthly income of at least 65,000 baht or a bank balance of at least 800,000 baht, according to Thailand's official e-Visa site¹⁸. The visa is a single-entry visa valid for three months.

Malaysia's long-stay programme, Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H), requires a fixed deposit of US$150,000 in a Malaysian financial institution and the purchase of a residence worth RM600,000 or more under the Silver category¹⁹. The Silver pass runs for five years and is renewable, and applicants for the Silver, Gold and Platinum categories must be 25 or older²⁰.

The Philippines' Special Resident Retiree's Visa (SRRV) is for principal applicants aged 40 or older, according to the Philippine Retirement Authority²¹. A pensioner aged 50 or older must place a visa deposit of US$15,000 and show a lifetime pension of at least US$800 a month, or US$1,000 with dependants. A non-pensioner aged 50 or older must place a deposit of US$30,000.

Indonesia's Directorate General of Immigration lists a Silver Hair and Retirement visa category on its e-Visa portal²².

Fiji's Residence Permit on Assured Income is for people aged 45 or older with a regular pension, retirement income or assets outside Fiji, who do not work in Fiji, according to Fiji's Ministry of Immigration²³. The permit runs for three years, with six months issued first and the balance issued after meeting the required remittance or property purchase conditions.

At the end of September 2026, A$1 bought 11.6% fewer Thai baht than at the end of September 2016, falling from 26.48 baht to 23.41 baht, according to Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) exchange rates²⁷.

Over the same 10 years, the Australian dollar fell 9.9% against the Malaysian ringgit, 9.6% against the euro, 10.5% against the UK pound and 21.1% against the Swiss franc²⁷.

The Australian dollar rose 25.5% against the Indonesian rupiah, 31.7% against the Indian rupee and 41.9% against the Japanese yen over the same period²⁷. Against the US dollar, it fell 8.6%, from US$0.7630 to US$0.6977.

Services Australia pays the Age Pension into an overseas bank account in local currency or US dollars, depending on the country, and the RBA converts each payment at the exchange rate at the time of payment⁶. The pension rate is indexed to Australian living costs, not to prices in the country of residence⁸.

Using an example calculation, the A$29,520.40 overseas rate converts to about 691,100 baht a year at the end-September 2026 rate of 23.41 baht per Australian dollar²⁷. At the February 2017 high of 26.84, it would have converted to about 792,300 baht, compared with about 595,100 baht at the March 2020 low of 20.16.

At its February 2017 high, A$1 bought 33.1% more baht than at its March 2020 low, the widest gap between month-end rates from September 2016 to September 2026²⁷.