Is the Age Pension fair?
Do the rules work for you?
What seems fair to one person may seem the opposite to someone else. So when the national government is the major source of retirement income for those aged over 66 there are often varying perceptions of how fair the system really is. Creating a system that serves the national interest as well as individual retiree needs and remains financially sustainable is a massive balancing act.
Australia’s Age Pension is one of the most finely calibrated in the world. Whilst this can then lead to complexity, it also results in finely targeted means testing on both income and assets, so that those with the least will remain within the safety net of a full Age Pension.
These are not the only upsides and downsides – there are so many in the Age Pension debate.
Below are some of the ways we might view the efficacy of the Age Pension. We’re always interested in learning more about how it works in your case, so please share your thoughts in the comments section at the end. And we’d also like to know whether we missed any aspects of the Age Pension that could be seen to favour one group over another.
Coverage
According to the 2020 Retirement Income Review nearly 65% of older Australians receive a full or part Age Pension. This is an enormous portion of the population. The pension has no connection with your earnings during your working (or non-working) life, so it is a true safety net provided to older citizens. Fortnightly payments also remain relevant to wages and household expenses through the system of twice-yearly indexation. Our pension is government guaranteed so, for anyone who is eligible, this removes the stress factor that their income stream could ever be removed without warning.
Complexity
The rules! Yes, they can be both difficult to understand and confusing. This is partly because of the nuance of Age Pension entitlement and perhaps also because the rules have been altered and added to over years and years. There’s a case to be made that it’s time for a simplification and streamlining of all terms and conditions. Searching for detail on the Services Australia or Centrelink website can be frustrating and leave visitors wondering if they have fully understood the information on offer.
Delivery
The Age Pension is ‘delivered’ through Centrelink which is an agency of the Services Australia department. It is fair to say that the delivery can sometimes feel less than perfect. But the enormity of the task can’t be overlooked either. In a recent report Centrelink met 36 million calls in a 12-month period with a busy signal, so clearly wait times are an issue. There are fewer Centrelink offices than there were pre-Covid, so less opportunity exists for face-to-face interaction. Dealing with Centrelink online can sometimes feel one-sided, with the technology interface not necessarily as intuitive as the agency would like us to believe. And then there are the clients who do not have mobile phones or computers, some of whom who live in regional areas, so they can quite rightly claim to be disadvantaged. The current Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme has highlighted a dependence by Centrelink on Artificial Intelligence ‘smoothing’ of income. This reliance on machines was inaccurate and has caused severe hardship and distress for many welfare recipients.
Couples v. Singles
A discussion of retirement income should not become a slanging match for couples versus singles. But feelings do run high.
Currently a Single full Age Pensioner receives a total of $1026.50 per fortnight in pension payments and supplements. A couple receive $773.80 each ($1,547.60 in total).
Singles often say that two can live as cheaply as one, so the fact that each half of the couple are awarded 75% of the single rate means ultimately that couples are better off.
Couples will often claim they should simply receive two times the single rate, with the pension entitlement made to each individual, regardless of with whom they may or may not live.
Who is right and who is wrong?
Homeowners v. renters
This presents another hornets’ nest, as whilst a family home remains exempt from means testing, both the assets and income test have different thresholds for homeowners versus those who are renting or in assisted accommodation. This is an acknowledgement of the massive role that home ownership plays in retirement affordability. Again, there are arguments on both sides as to whether the Australian Age Pension deals with this in an equitable way.
Self-funded v. full or part Age Pension recipients
Again, there are many different ways of viewing this debate. Many self-funded retirees will view their situation as the sum of their efforts over many years to work hard, save and have enough put away to fund their own retirements. The corollary of this, of course, is the implication that those on an Age Pension ‘should’ have worked harder and saved more. This argument sets up a false dichotomy. Not everyone has had the opportunity to work, let alone work hard, or to be paid well. Not everyone has had the opportunity to save. It’s a lively discussion. And it came to a head in January 2017 when the Turnbull Government doubled the taper rate for the assets test, meaning nearly 300,000 part Age Pensioners lost their entitlements in one hit.
The big picture
We pride ourselves on our ‘world class’ retirement system, but sadly the percentage of Australia’s GDP spent on the Age Pension places us at 32 out of the 38 nations measured. For one of the wealthiest nations in the world, coming this far down the list is a very questionable ranking.
This isn’t the whole picture however. Our superannuation system is one of the best private retirement savings systems in the world and when combined with the Age Pension puts Australia near the top of the tree. However, neither superannuation concessions nor the Age Pension come without significant costs. The Government now spends nearly as much on superannuation concessions – $52.5b – as it does on the Age Pension – $54.9b. The super concessions are there to encourage people to help fund their own retirement and take some pressure off the public purse which funds the Age Pension but there are also questions of fairness and equity on this issue.
As we said, we’d love your feedback on this vital topic. We’ve previously written on the concept of a Universal Age Pension which seems to be a very popular initiative. So is the time now ripe to move from the challenges of delivering a complex means tested pension to nearly 65% of Australians to the much simpler and cheaper administrative task of delivering a universal one?
Over to you.
I Dont believe My Pension has Nothing to do with my earnings over 50 years Diring the Hawke Rein didnt he merge a Specific Fund Designed specifically for The Agef pension paid by the Taxpayer into General funds? I stand to be corrected
Also Taking your Partners income into account when working out a Pention is outrageous esp when in most cases your atmre Treated individually
In many Households Couples keep their own Spending finances seperate but share exspenses so The Earning Partner earns 1800 a Fortnight and the Pensioner recieves $700 odd less the Money taken into acct by the working Partner The Working partner keeps Their earnings and The pensioner jas his/her Pension reduced??
In addition the Working Partners income is calibrated at the gross earnings which leaves the Pensioner more Disadvantaged
Does 50 + years paying tax account for Nothing? Seems theres an Obvious Answer
NewZealand has a Much Fairer Superanuatipn scheme Where your not means tested and you can eatn what you like without affecting your Pension albeit You are Taxed I think at secondary tax Rate on Earnings(Stand to be corrected )
Maybe the old saying of looking after your own First had a lot of Merit
I totally agree with these comments. After being in the workforce for over fifty years my wife and I followed the guidelines to be self-funded in our retirement. We started with nothing, having to borrow for our wedding. We saved hard, budgeted well, were frugal so as to ensure we wouldn’t be a burden on society upon retirement. This on top of having our children. Everyone makes their own way in life but we understand that not all are able to gain the same opportunities.
The New Zealand system is good and it would be good if Australia had the same system. If not possible, all seniors should at least be given concessions for essential services and car registration. This would be some reward after all the tax we paid over the years.
Time for a universal pension. We all pay for it in taxes and charges so why not. Even if the full pension is dropped slightly and for those in need a top up can be applied for. It would cut down on the administrative burden and make life easier. We could have time to enjoy our well earned retirement instead of always checking our super, savings and assets all the time.
The deeming rate at this time is well about the average earning the most pensioners can get from their secure banks.
I suggest that it should be based on the Reserve Bank’s rate with an appropiate mark-up
I believe a universal pension would be the fairest option. The Government will be spending less if the administration of determining who is genuinely eligible is taken out of the system.
Agree
I was a single mother who worked, scimitar & saved to buy my house and meet all expenses with raising my child. When I retired, I went in the age pension. Everything was going well until 4 years ago my single brother was diagnosed with lung and tonsillar cancer. At his request I looked after him taking him for his appointments and treatment &maintained his house & garden. When he died he left 1/2 his estate to me. Half of it I shared with all my nephews, neices and their children. I was going to use the rest fixing up my house. As an honest person I told Centrelink what I have done. I was told I could only give $10,000.00 per year. while none of my nephews and neices got taxed I was penalised and my age pension including my pension card were removed and I was made to repay over $7000.00.
I didn’t care if they didn’t pay me my pension but to remove my pension card really hurts as now I don’t get any concession except for the healthcare card.
I am told I am not entitled to any claim for 5 years.
Now I cannot update and maintain repairs to my house.
Medically both my arms are restricted with chronic tear in one and complete tear of muscle in the other. I am also told I have osteoporosis of my spine, Lt hip and Lt forearm. When I told Centrelink that I have to pay for everything I have to have done and what money I have won’t last too long, I was told to use my super when I run out of ‘inherited money’.
There seems to be one rule for honest person who lays out everything for Centrelink while there are those who live in a mansion, own millions of shares so much so they can get their hands on over 1/2 million dollars within days. And these people are on age pension.
Agree it should be Universal Pension.
The whole system needs a revamp. the percentage of Australian born persons of pension age eligible is becoming lower and lower. A lot of us including myself have worked multiple jobs to get by paying at 17% interest rates. not a business owner, not inherited money (most of us had parents/grandparents at war and stay home mothers who went thru depression, recession and building the country without opportunity to make millions) and just worked and worked, never owned new cars or gone on trips, owned fancy clothes or gadgets and never used the system. Took a risk and purchased a investment property which nearly sent us to bankruptcy but took on two jobs and three at one stage along with bringing up three children. Hung in there BUT now won’t be entitled to pension as assets to high because of super. IM NOT RICH, DONT COME FROM A WEALTHY FAMILY, HAVENT SQUANDERED MY MONEY ON BOOZE, CIGARETTES, FANCY CARS OR HOUSES ETC. HAVENT INHERITED MONEY, BUT I believe that every person born here, worked for years and paid taxes, contributed to building businesses in Australia, by spending money in the country, and lived a conservative life should be entitled to a basis pension before assets are considered. just enough to help with bills etc so your savings aren’t depleted. People in multi million dollar homes are getting a pension. those who have hidden money in different ways are getting pension. make it more fair and make Australians feel worthy by just giving a non assetted base pension.
As for the single debate. If singles are so bad off for being on their own then why is their asset limit higher. We are two people who have both worked so why should we be penalised. It’s ridiculous to think that a married couple are better off pension wise being single. eg. I know of two single people who have super, a second house rented and been left money and are still entitled. us as two people if we had the same would have four houses (one each we live in and one each investment, two supers etc) we wouldn’t be entitled to anything. it’s no more expensive to live single with a pension as you are entitled to all the concessions on rates etc which a married couple with no pension wouldn’t get, buying food for q, less electricity etc. and higher asset and income level.
EVERY PERSON SHOULD BE TREATED EQUALLY AND INDIVIDUALLY. BEING MARRIED SHOULD NOT PENALISE .
MY next beef with the system is the fact that those of us who have worked and paid tax for 55 odd years aren’t entitled as they know everything we have done and have yet a person can migrate here, be here for only ten years YES 10 years and only have to have lived here for 5 of those and they are entitled to the pension, govt. doesn’t know what assets they have overseas, and haven’t really paid very much tax.
THE SYSTEM NEEDS TO CHANGE. we have generations who are going to be homeless and the government are making it hard for us to build assets and ard having to use our savings (as we are just over the asset limit) we have worked hard for to be able to pass something on and help future generations get educated and a roof over their head by making us use up our own savings to live on. this money depletes quickly so aged persons stop spending in the economy, stop getting health requirements etc.
GOVT NEEDS TO LOOK AT THEIR OWN PEOPLE HAVING A GOOD RETIREMENT AND WHAT BENEFITS ARE DEPLETING THE COFFERS AND BEING ABUSED.
You make a lot of very good points. I can not get a pension card
Universal pension is the way to go . I no longer qualify for a pension.I have worked hard and because I have a modest holiday home no pension for me . Asset rich cash poor . Asset rich is due to the escalating house prices . Centrelink advice sell your holiday home u can only live in one house .
True. Couples who have been together for decades really cannot comprehend “ the financial penalty” incurred by singles especially if paying rent or if divorced or never married, the paying off of mortgages over the past 20 – 30 years will have taken the bulk of a single’s Average earnings. Second incomes through that period has permitted faster repayment of mortgages by couples, some of whom have then leveraged into “ investment” or “ holiday homes”, which have earned neg geared tax breaks never available to single owner occupiers, & “ downsizing” arrangements now also tend to be best utilised by couples. Singles never got any Family Benefits, or other tax rebates or allowances to support the raising of children ( which are costly burdens but still more easily supported by 2 incomes over 1).
So it’s easy to misunderstand either side, but the opportunity to accumulate wealth for retirement years has been generally greater for couples over singles.
Probably not these days. The obscenity of having seen housing shift ( since advent of negative gearing) from being “ shelter” to “ an investment” and the escalation of housing prices to such high multiples of “median incomes” now sees even double income households not being able to afford housing. These Australians in decades to come will probably need access to Aged Pensions despite compulsory Super ( based on %age of low/median), especially women who suffer most from low pay, disrupted earnings, divorce etc.
on my pre-retirement full time work income 2 years ago, I would not earn enough to mortgage a one bedroom flat in any Australian city nor be able to
afford rent other than in a rural area or in shared housing situation. The wealth distribution in Australia has become highly polarised over recent decades.
Ii can only get a part pension as I have rental
I think it is not fair that someone say in Sydney with the home worth 4,000.000 they get full pension leave that to their children I live in the country town home worth 500,000 rental worth 300,000
And get for it penalised
exactly.
I still think the Single pensioner is worse off than a pensioner couple. I have three pensioner couple living next to and across the street from me e.g.
Our council rates are exactly the same give or take a few dollars.
Our Home and contents insurance premiums similar.
Yes these 3 couples own 2 cars each one in each name –
Our homes were built at approximately the same time 1974-1975 and we struggled to pay off our mortgages when interest rates were 17.5% no A & B family benefits nor extra help when getting children back to school.
So yes we were all paying and struggle to pay off our mortgages.
Also two of us i.e. My self and another couple also struggle to pay our private health insurance which we have had since a children were born
and now they ask me how I manage on the single pension – and I have to say with great difficulty.
My husband and I moved to Australia during the pandemic to be close to our children. New Zealand has a universal pension and you can work as much as you like, just have to nominate one income source as Secondary tax. I never worried about money. Since moving to Australia, which we love and it is wonderful to be close to our children, we have gone through considerable amounts of our savings as we only qualify for a part pension here paid by the NZ government. I am now spending quite a bit of time concerted about our dwindling savings. it is not how I wanted to spend my retirement years. With the incredible rise in the cost of living I do not believe you could survive comfortably on the pension alone. The $4000,000. savings threshold is way too low due to rapid inflation. Also, it doesn’t encourage pensioners to remain in the workforce, even part-time, as again the threshold is way too low. This deprives us of social and intellectual stimulus and employers struggling to find staff.
I now spend quite a bit of time counting down the days of each month when I will get my part pension (monthly). I don’t want to count the days of my retirement away but it is a struggle not too when you see you savings disappearing so quickly.
The NZ government only pay us what the Australian government would pay us if we had lived here all our lives, so I’m not taking a poke at Australia, but regardless, I struggle to see the threshold of $4000,000 in savings being fair in this day and age and I fear that there must be a considerable amount of retirees struggling to survive once all the savings are gone and living on the pension only.
As a pensioner that gets $773/ fortnight. This comes out of govt coffers with no return to govt
If they used their collective brains they would want me to go to work, earn $1500/ week and give them my tax instalments weekly. This instalment would be money they get even though they continue to pay me $773/ fortnight.
Not all that bright but would that not mean they spend less on my pension than they currently do.
Multiply that by 10% of pensioners that would under those circumstances be happy to work.
The govt pension bill would benefit from considerable savings.
Yep…time for a “Universal Age Pension”. Checked eligibility ..No because of rental property that returns a minimal income because of high maintenance but has a high value.Others on a full pension get over twice our income. Toying with idea of selling rental prop & own dwelling, moving to an up market house with no hassles, no stress & a pension to support our simple lifestyle.
Or perhaps sell rental property (@ a loss !) and go on extravagant world holiday ($ leaves Australia) then be entitled to a pension.*** Don’t mind paying taxes for income above pension & spending here to bolster economy & simplify the system.
Right you are, Grant. We did a few cruises around the globe before Covid-19. Finance
adviser told us to move into a flash suburb and get the age pension. We live in the country in a modest home but have assets – but we like living here.
Rental properties are not worth the hassle when one is retired. You need an agent to filter out the non-payers etc. Good luck with whatever you decide on!
You have to have an income of about $90000, or assets of around#$940000 to not qualify for at least a very small pension, which would get you a health card. If you have this level of income or assets I don’t think you should be getting welfare payments, which is essentially what the aged pension is. It’s not a right as it is in places like the UK which have a seperate payment from wages called National Insurance.. which pays for your pension.
For a couple I forgot to mention that
Most people I know who had enough income or equity to finance an “ investment property” either ended up
paying NO Income Tax due to negative gearing and have made wealth by selling their investment property after “ retirement” ( ceasing to earn any income beyond the Investment property rent, thereby reducing Capital Gains tax because their are now in a low marginal tax rate).
Most investment properties are purchased as both tax minimalising and/or retirement wealth creation.
If you have to sell
the investment property at a loss, I guess you haven’t owned it very long, or bought it at a the peak of the market with a high mortgage & it has been hit by a drop in the market, or in a cheaper locality which has remained low valued/less desirable. Sell it when it reaches “breakeven value” or sell at a loss and relieve yourself of the cost of the mortgage repayments & hassle of being a landlord. Good luck.
In my view a situation when a younger spouse still works and the older one has retired is not addressed justly. Currently the retiree may have no privileges because the spouse works even though the situation they are in requires some support . I would think the retiree should at least have an access to cheaper medicines.
Part of the complication of that situation too is that often the older person is a male , never having been placed in the role if “ a dependant”
relying on a female partner who probably earns less than that male partner has ever earned. That would definitely be a “wake up experience”, but agree, access to cheaper medications etc could be helpful. You may find there are other non pensioner benefits your now “low income” family can benefit from , even if “ just” income tax sitting” which would not be available to say, a women who is single and earning the same as a female, still working, spouse (once again, Singles pay more tax; no income splitting as available to double income families, even before either of a couple “quit working”.
A universal pension such as NZ has would be much simpler.
Tax would be payable on any income over a certain amount. Many people in receipt of a government pension do not realise that their pension is taxable (although the rebates are generous). Overseas pensions are all taxable here in Australia (without those rebates) with the only people not needing to declare their pensions are the self funded retirees.
Our system encourages people to stop work early and use up the savings and thus qualify
for a pension at 67. I was in the Swiss age pension and was told by the Swiss Govt to stop
paying in their system as pas agreement with the Australian Govt. I was guaranteed the age
pension in Australia. Then the Govt here changed its mind and put in an asset and income
test.
Now I am getting no pension apart from the $125 a month from the Swiss for the 2 years I was part of their system. So much for trusting our authorities!
If you only receive $125 per month from Switzerland then it sounds like you are ruled out of Aussie pension under the Assets test which can be cruel, depending on your situation. I had a friend work to age 70. Worked yo pay off the mortgage on her 20 acre hobby farm bought in her 50’s on a single income. Because her house was on more than 5 acres and not owned yet for 20 years, she received not a cent of pension.
She worked most of her years as a casual in private industry which didn’t pay into any Super fund ; only the last 10
years into a permanent employee Super fund. That is all she had to live on. Centrelink basically told her she had to
“ farm” her non farmable 20 acres or sell it ie: sell her home she had flogged her guts out for years to own after pension/ retirement age in order to house herself & her 3 old horses. To sell & move she would realistically have had to euthanise her horses (as a single lady, essentially her family) Her property wasn’t worth millions. It was just more than 5 acres. It’s good now to read in above article that some exemptions can be achieved if property not viable to produce income. Doesn’t seem right, when some people can have way more actual $ in Super and still get a full Pension but owning more than 5 acres of non productive land around your house may rule you out.
To qualify for an Age Pension, maybe you will have to liquidise some of your assets?
I think that once you reach pension age, everyone should at least get the pension card, which gives you all the benefits even if you are over the assets threshhold
a universal pension would be much cheaper to administer therefore a very big saving for the government. people should have to apply so in that case many would fail to do so because of their wealth. Australia and its governments are way behind the eight ball regarding pensions and pensioners and need to lift their game. the are too focused o the economics to look ahead.
Universal pension is the way to go. No discrimination between those that chose to provide for their future and those that didn’t/couldn’t.
Universal Pension is the way to go and cheaper for the government
My defacto is about to retire in a couple of months, I still have 4 years until I can retire. I must say reading all these comments makes me very nervous of what is to come. I hoped to have a nice retirement with a few holidays a year. That’s is looking doubtful. Our money in our relationship has always been separate. Looks like I may now have to support my partner while he stays home and does nothing. Not happy Jan!
Yes, he probably will become your dependant; you’re a couple.
He won’t be doing nothing however. He will be doing what wen have done forever, when they use to “ not have to work”, due to economic conditions being such that a household could be supported on one income ( up to about 1970’s/80’s) or took breaks from work to have children. Your defacto will now run the home, cooking, cleaning, shopping etc
That might take some pressure of your work/life balance hopefully. Aged Pensions don’t tend to be sufficient to support several holidays a year in any case. Depends on where & what kind of holiday you take and savings in reserve, really. Good luck with the retirement transition and preparation for your own in 4 years time. ?
We are totally disadvantaged as we were married 10 years ago with both of us coming out of first marriages financially poor. We decided to buy a house together and still have a hefty MORTGAGE to pay. This payment is NOT taken into consideration at all when applying for the pension.
There are so many of us in this situation!
A universal pension is the fairest system and one that is adjusted each year according to one’s current tax return. If you don’t lodge a tax return within time limits then you loose your pension rights until all outstanding tax return are lodged.
We are on a modest SMSF income and no pension. We see people getting some pension and have an income also off their savings, living a much more lavish lifestyle than we are. We saved hard for our retirement, both of us pay tax all our working life and feel a universal pension should be adopted here like New Zealand and the UK in fairness to people who have not wasted money too much on lifestyle extras and not thought about their future security. We have lost money having an SMSF due to market fluctuations and cost involved in paying for this. The government does not feel like we need any help, but we do. We are in our 70’s. A Universal pension up to a certain level would be much fairer.
I’d like to hear from people who have been sole traders all their working life compared to those who have been employed.
I have just qualified for my pension and the assessment used to determine my payment is astounding. I cannot do a fortnightly income report so as to vary my pension payment if need be. I am advised to send profit and loss statements every 3 mths so centreline can determine if they are paying me correctly. and then I’m told they don’t pay retrospectively if you’ve been underpaid! Is this true? If so, seems unfair.
The pension system in Australia is a Joke. I have worked and paid taxes all my life and now that I am retired, (after serving my country in the military) Iam told that my assets are just over the limit so not entitled to anything.
we should have a system like some countries in Europe do, that is when you reach retiring age you automatically get a fixed pension and every citizen gets the same.
Australia is way behind with this compared to some European Countries.
Apart from being possibly caught on the “ living on more than 5 acres” asset trap, you have to be basically a millionaire 1.6 M? In investments to get ruled out on Asset Test.
If you were a Career DOF member, wouldn’t you qualify for a Military Pension at a certain age? Use to be that you did in your mid/late 40’s or thereabouts.
Would not apply if you only served one or two terms I guess. ?
A Universal pension is a good option when you consider all the administration that goes into its operation via Centrelink. I understand the ethics of the means test but it is quite divisive and very complicated for many older people without the understanding of IT.
Many people manipulate the system and withdraw cash and assets just enough to qualify for a pension card, with the purpose of gaining the pension card benefits.
In my view give everyone of pension age a pension card at least if you are to continue with the current system or go to a universal pension with tax on income above a set threshold.
Universal pension – yes! Get rid of the complex rules, the administrative overhead of all those rules, people having to provide evidence, likelihood of errors and move to a simpler system that is cheaper for government and less onerous on the elderly.
Government ideas about an “intuitive” Centrelink interface are really about “what makes logical sense from Centrelink’s perspective”. It has nothing to do with what makes sense for the customer. I work in business and IT and find nothing “intuitive” for the customer as I’ve been trying to navigate for Aged Care support for an elderly parent. I have an older sister who says it took 12 hours to apply for a pension only to have Centrelink come back asking for documentation that she has already provided.
So – let’s save money and heartache all round and go for a universal payment.
We won’t be the first country to do this, as others have pointed out in comments above.
Charles, may I suggest you quit work and apply for an Age Pension. I worked and paid taxes ( rarely got any tax refund because I wasn’t self employed or had children, so could not claim a huge raft of possible tax deductions) & never had enough income to put into possible “wealth creating investments or whack into a tax deductible Super Fund. Paid mortgage from a single income… etc
I subsidised people far richer than I to get even richer. I subsided other people’s childminding, kids education, other peoples cardiac operations, hip/knee replacements, facilities for Sports clubs for sports I have no interest or participation in…
That’s the way it goes….
I empathise with you if you are still working because you are still paying off a mortgage, but having a secure roof over your head when you DO retire is pretty crucial for when you do
claim an Age Pension.
Im 63 Ive been put off work due to an injury, having worked since i was 16. my wife works 3 days a week, i don’t know if i will get anything because we don’t have a mortgage we own our house and don’t have any bills except the day to day things , we did our bit ,we paid tax all our working lives , i don’t think people who are at pension age should have to keep being taxed , at pension age or for reasons you are no longer able to work and are close to pension age we should automatically get a package sent to us on how it all works and what to do , and a basic pension with what benefits we are entitled to. these days to go into centrelink or on line you nearly need to have a solicitor with you to understand what’s going on, it needs to be streamlined and basic
The age pension and benefits should be paid to retiree’s , irrespective of there assets or income. You paid tax all your working life
For the first half of my working life 25 years, I paid into a super fund when it was not compulsorily and most of my fellow work mates refused as they said they would rather spend it then, All similar incomes. Now that we are all retired, they get a pension or part pension and I get nothing due to much in assets due to my savings I paid into my super. They even skite about it, or is it penalize the Saver but reward the Waster, how in the hell is this fair.
Universal pension for me or at least a pension card for everyone of pension age
I have to wait the full two year wait from the below the poverty line “Newstart” allowance to the “Aged Pension Payment. Why should I be discriminated against because of the year I was born in when millions of others have received it at age 65. From a person’s forties you suffer ageism from employers where you are classed as too old to get a job and discrimination from the government where as they have raise do the pension to age 67. Sadly thousands of people affected by the rise in pension age will die during the intervening two years and never see the aged pension.
It saddens me to think this increase was introduced by Wayne in Swann a Labor Treasurer. The same Labor Party which once championed the struggles of the “Australian battler”.Why should Australian sovereignty be influenced by a policy dictated by an external think tank called the OECD. A sad day for the Australian worker.An injustice of living below the poverty line for another two years while being forced to work for the dole.Shame on Australian politicians of all parties who live in a financial bubble not affected by the realities faced by many average Australians.
I am concerned that many people have been to “arrange” their finances so they get the aged pension whist having considerable assets.
As well, there are older people who have arranged their affairs so that even though they pay little or no income tax, they can receive franking credits! That is definitely double dipping.
I do not know how governments can control this, but if I know they must know as well.
This is public money and should be delivered fairly!