B15/1992 INDEXED BRITISH RETIREMENT INCOME

DATE OF ISSUE:  8 April 1992

INDEXED BRITISH RETIREMENT INCOME

INTRODUCTION

1. In the first full week of April 1992 the British Government. in line with their Retail Price Index, will be applying a 4.1% increase to the National Insurance benefit paid to their beneficiaries.  This increase affects the following pensioners paid by this department:

service pensioners in receipt of British department of Social security pension who live in any country other than Australia, Canada and New Zealand

service pensioners in receipt of a British Indexed Pension (ie Public Service, Navy, Teachers etc.) regardless of the country of residence.

TIMETABLE

2.This exercise is now an automatic run and was run on 28 March 1992 with an effective date of 16 April 1992.

AUTOMATIC PROCESSING

3.This exercise will only update superannuation code 09 (British Indexed Pension).

Note: Any British Indexed Pension cases incorrectly recorded under superannuation code 08 (British Retirement Income) or 99 (Miscellaneous), ill need to be manually updated, and the code changed to 09 for future automatic updating.

OVERSEAS CASES

4.If a pensioner who is in receipt of British Department of Social Security Retirement pension is living in any country other than Australia, Canada, or New Zealand, the 4.1% increase should be applied and the service pension varied accordingly with an effective date of 16 April 1992.

5.Service pensioners who receive British DSS pension and are holidaying in any country, with the exception of Canada or New Zealand, are eligible for the increase. The increase will be paid if the British DSS know of the pensioners whereabouts. On their return to Australia these pensioners should be sent an income review. If the holiday was to England the pension may be increased to the level it would have been paid at if the pensioner had never left the U.K.

6.Service pensioners receipt of a British Indexed Pension (ie. Public Service, Navy, Teachers etc) will have their British pension increased regardless of the country of residence. These cases should all be recorded as super type 09 (British Indexed Pension). All such pensions should be reassessed with an effective date of 16 March 1992.

STATISTICAL RECORDING

7.All reductions in pension payment for any cases processed manually can be credited to the selective review program.

8.Please manually record and provide at the conclusion of the review:

effective date for reductions if finalised after cut off for 16 April 1992 the number of pensions reduced

the average amount of the reduction

the hours taken to process

the ASO levels at which the work was undertaken.

Final Figures should be sent to Jeanette Ricketts, Benefits Income Support, Standards and Control Section, Central Office.

CONTACT OFFICERS

9.The Benefits contact officers for this exercise are:

Ken Stewart on telephone (06) 289-6188 for ADP problems

Jeanette Ricketts on telephone (06) 289-6440 for policy issues.

10.This instruction has been issued so that a history can be maintained.

KAY GRIMSLEY

ASSISTANT SECRETARY

INCOME SUPPORT