The wait is over with the detail of Treasurer, Jim Chalmers,’ fourth Federal Budget now revealed. Before sharing the highlights, let’s recap the Retirement Essentials team’s wishlist to see how many measures actually came to pass.
Retirement Essentials
Age Pension increases 20 March 2025
The twice-yearly Age Pension increase is due to land on 20 March 2025. We reported in mid-February our predictions for singles and couples, and we’re pleased to say our predictions were correct within a few cents. The table below shows the increases, as confirmed by the Federal Government, including supplements for singles and couples.
March Age Pension increases
The Federal Government has confirmed the new payment rates from 20 March 2025 for recipients of the Age Pension, Disability Support Pension, and Carer Payments. Singles can expect a total increase of $4.60 a fortnight and couples can expect a (combined) total increase of $7.00 a fortnight.
What will be in the March 2025 Budget?
At the time of writing we still don’t know when the Federal Election will be held, except that it will be before the end of May. This means that we still expect a Federal Budget to be delivered on 25 March. Even if an election is called, it is likely we will see a Budget Statement from Treasurer Jim Chalmers sometime in March.
So what will be in the Budget that’s of interest to retirees? That’s the really big question and one to which the team at Retirement Essentials has no guaranteed answers. We do, however, have a point of view about what is likely to come through. And we also have strong views about measures we would like to see included, to ensure that older Australians are treated both equally and fairly.
Here are our Federal Budget 2024-25 guesses and wish list.