AOW, pension and tax in Australia: everything moves to the state of residence — except your ABP

Q: What happens to your AOW?

Australia is on the SVB's list of treaty countries : your accrued AOW is paid out there in full. Accrual does stop on your departure day: every year outside the Netherlands costs 2%. You can repair that with the voluntary insurance . You apply for it within one year of the end of the compulsory insurance (usually the day you leave), and it runs for at most ten years. The premium is 17.9% of your income, with in 2026 a minimum of € 569 and a maximum of € 5,693 a year. Fiscally, Australia is the mirror image of New Zealand. The 1976 tax treaty says in article 18 that pensions and annuities are taxable only in your country of residence . For pensions it adds explicitly: "including pensions granted under the provisions of a public social security scheme". So that is your AOW too. AOW, company pension and annuity therefore all three go to the Australian tax office. Apply to the Belastingdienst for the exemption declaration, so the Dutch withholding stops. Item Rule, amount or deadline AOW in Australia paid in full (treaty country) AOW accrual after departure stops; 2% less per year Voluntary AOW insurance apply within 1 year of the end of compulsory insurance (usually departure), at most 10 years Voluntary AOW premium 2026 17.9% of income, minimum € 569, maximum € 5,693 AOW, company pension, annuity taxed only in Australia (1976 treaty, art. 18) Government pension (ABP from a public post) the Netherlands may tax (art. 19) Age Pension: age 67 for those born on or after 1 January 1957 Age Pension: residence requirement 10 years qualifying Australian residence , Dutch insurance periods count Superannuation guarantee 12% of wages, compulsory for the employer Conserving assessment remission on request after 10 years; substantial interest unlimited

Q: Which pension stays taxed in the Netherlands?

Article 19 keeps one category at home: remuneration including pensions for services in government functions may be taxed by the country that pays them. An ABP pension from a public post (education, police, defence, municipality) therefore stays taxed in the Netherlands, even if you live in Sydney. A mixed pension is treated per part: the government part stays Dutch, the private part goes along.

Q: Do you also get an Australian state pension?

The Age Pension works fundamentally differently from the AOW: it is not an accrual pension but a provision with an income and assets test , from the pension age of 67. Your Dutch AOW and pension count in that test. Whoever has a decent Dutch pension therefore gets little or no Age Pension. That is not because something is cut, but because that is how the test works. The social security agreement helps on the access side. The Act requires ten years of qualifying Australian residence : ten years in which you lived in Australia as a resident. Article 14 of the agreement lets your Dutch insurance periods count as Australian residence. It also adds separate periods together into one continuous period. In addition, as a worker in Australia you build up superannuation : the employer must pay 12% of your wages into a pension fund, and that is the real Australian pension. So count on AOW plus Dutch pension plus superannuation for your old age, and treat the Age Pension as a safety net you will probably only partly touch.

Q: What do you lose in the Netherlands?

The qualifying non-resident tax status lapses . That scheme lets you keep Dutch deductions from abroad, but it applies only to residents of an EU country, Liechtenstein, Norway, Iceland, Switzerland or the BES islands. So you get no mortgage interest deduction on a retained Dutch home and no tax part of the tax credits. On your accrued pension, annuity and substantial interest the Belastingdienst moreover imposes a conserving assessment on emigration: an assessment that is not collected as long as you do nothing that makes it payable. Australia lies outside the EU: you apply for the deferral yourself, and the Belastingdienst may ask for security. Stick to the Dutch rules for ten years and you can ask for remission; cash in your pension or annuity and you pay. For a substantial interest the assessment remains valid indefinitely.

Australia is a treaty country, so your accrued AOW (the Dutch state pension) comes fully along — and the tax treaty from 1976 sends both your AOW and your company pension to the Australian tax office. Only a government pension stays Dutch. On the Australian side your pension counts as ordinary income (with a tax-free UPP part), and the Age Pension is a test, not an accrual.

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Written and checked by Auke on 14 October 2026, against the sources at the bottom. Is something no longer right? Report it below and I'll fix it.

Your accrued AOW (the Dutch state pension) goes to Australia in full, and you pay the tax on it in Australia. Two things cause that. Australia is on the SVB's list of treaty countries. And the 1976 tax treaty sends AOW, company pension and annuity all three to the Australian tax office (article 18). Only a government pension stays taxed in the Netherlands (article 19).

On top of that there is the Age Pension, the Australian state pension. It works differently from the AOW:

It is not an accrual pension but a provision with an income and assets test: how much you get depends on your income and assets.
It applies from age 67 and after ten years of residence.
Thanks to the social security agreement, your Dutch insurance years count towards that residence requirement.

What happens to your AOW?

Australia is on the SVB's list of treaty countries: your accrued AOW is paid out there in full. Accrual does stop on your departure day: every year outside the Netherlands costs 2%. You can repair that with the voluntary insurance. You apply for it within one year of the end of the compulsory insurance (usually the day you leave), and it runs for at most ten years. The premium is 17.9% of your income, with in 2026 a minimum of € 569 and a maximum of € 5,693 a year.

Fiscally, Australia is the mirror image of New Zealand. The 1976 tax treaty says in article 18 that pensions and annuities are taxable only in your country of residence. For pensions it adds explicitly: "including pensions granted under the provisions of a public social security scheme". So that is your AOW too. AOW, company pension and annuity therefore all three go to the Australian tax office. Apply to the Belastingdienst for the exemption declaration, so the Dutch withholding stops.

Item	Rule, amount or deadline
AOW in Australia	paid in full (treaty country)
AOW accrual after departure	stops; 2% less per year
Voluntary AOW insurance	apply within 1 year of the end of compulsory insurance (usually departure), at most 10 years
Voluntary AOW premium 2026	17.9% of income, minimum € 569, maximum € 5,693
AOW, company pension, annuity	taxed only in Australia (1976 treaty, art. 18)
Government pension (ABP from a public post)	the Netherlands may tax (art. 19)
Age Pension: age	67 for those born on or after 1 January 1957
Age Pension: residence requirement	10 years qualifying Australian residence, Dutch insurance periods count
Superannuation guarantee	12% of wages, compulsory for the employer
Conserving assessment	remission on request after 10 years; substantial interest unlimited

Which pension stays taxed in the Netherlands?

Article 19 keeps one category at home: remuneration including pensions for services in government functions may be taxed by the country that pays them. An ABP pension from a public post (education, police, defence, municipality) therefore stays taxed in the Netherlands, even if you live in Sydney. A mixed pension is treated per part: the government part stays Dutch, the private part goes along.

How does Australia tax your Dutch pension?

As ordinary income in your return. But there is a mitigation: the undeducted purchase price (UPP). The part of your pension that is a repayment of your own contributions is tax-free. You claim it as a deduction on the taxable amount. The ATO, the Australian tax office, has a set route for foreign pensions to determine that part. It is not a large amount, but it is free money for whoever applies.

Do you also get an Australian state pension?

The Age Pension works fundamentally differently from the AOW: it is not an accrual pension but a provision with an income and assets test, from the pension age of 67. Your Dutch AOW and pension count in that test. Whoever has a decent Dutch pension therefore gets little or no Age Pension. That is not because something is cut, but because that is how the test works.

The social security agreement helps on the access side. The Act requires ten years of qualifying Australian residence: ten years in which you lived in Australia as a resident. Article 14 of the agreement lets your Dutch insurance periods count as Australian residence. It also adds separate periods together into one continuous period.

In addition, as a worker in Australia you build up superannuation: the employer must pay 12% of your wages into a pension fund, and that is the real Australian pension. So count on AOW plus Dutch pension plus superannuation for your old age, and treat the Age Pension as a safety net you will probably only partly touch.

What do you lose in the Netherlands?

The qualifying non-resident tax status lapses. That scheme lets you keep Dutch deductions from abroad, but it applies only to residents of an EU country, Liechtenstein, Norway, Iceland, Switzerland or the BES islands. So you get no mortgage interest deduction on a retained Dutch home and no tax part of the tax credits.

On your accrued pension, annuity and substantial interest the Belastingdienst moreover imposes a conserving assessment on emigration: an assessment that is not collected as long as you do nothing that makes it payable. Australia lies outside the EU: you apply for the deferral yourself, and the Belastingdienst may ask for security. Stick to the Dutch rules for ten years and you can ask for remission; cash in your pension or annuity and you pay. For a substantial interest the assessment remains valid indefinitely.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 4 of 5 of the journey: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Australia.

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What this rests on

The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.

SVB — treaty countries for the AOW (Australia is on the list) — svb.nl
Tax treaty Netherlands–Australia (1976), articles 18 and 19 — wetten.overheid.nl
ATO — the undeducted purchase price of a foreign pension — ato.gov.au
Social Security Guide (DSS) — the principles of the agreement with the Netherlands — guides.dss.gov.au
SVB — what voluntary insurance costs — svb.nl
Belastingdienst — deductions and credits when living abroad — belastingdienst.nl
Belastingdienst — protective assessment on emigration — belastingdienst.nl
Social Security Act 1991 — pension age 67 (s. 23) and ten years' residence (s. 43) — legislation.gov.au
Social security agreement Netherlands–Australia, article 14 — totalisation of periods — wetten.overheid.nl
SVB — how long you can insure voluntarily (at most 10 years) — svb.nl
Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 — charge percentage 12 — legislation.gov.au

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