Let’s talk about pensions.
Who wants to work until they are seventy?
What kind of government would even consider extending the retirement age?
A pension should be enough so that you are not worrying about whether you can pay a bill or eat that week and it should come at an age where you can still enjoy your time.
If you look at the government’s history, we seem to have been decreasing the pensions and subsidies. Pushing comfortable later years further and further away and holding onto a job for longer when it could be passed on to the youth.
In the 2014 budget they tried to cut $23 billion from pensioners. Which in turn would have meant pensioners would be forced to live on $80 a week less within ten years. They also cut $1 billion from pensioner concessions which often is the difference between having food on the table or paying a bill. Pensioner concessions are meant to help with the cost of living. The cost of living which keeps going up. There was also cuts to self-funded retirees receiving the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card as they axed the supplement.
In 2015 a deal was made with the Green party to cut the pension to around 370,000 pensioners by as much as $12,000 a year by changing the pension assets test.
But it doesn’t stop there.
In the 2016 Budget they thought that it was their job to try and limit overseas travel for pensioners to 6 weeks without penalty. They also believe that pensioners born overseas should wait longer to get the Age Pension. It’s currently 10 years but they would like to make it 15 years.
The ultimate goal seems to be to increase the age of when you can get your pension. Anything over 65 is too long. People should be able to retire at 60, with compulsory retirement at 65. People should be entitled to have some me-time and still be young enough to enjoy their retirement.
It is not just the pensions they would also like to remove the energy supplement which would affect around 400,000 age pensioners.
Pensioners have a wisdom and experience that should not be forgotten. Most pensioners have worked hard and done their bit to make Australia what it is today. They should be rewarded for their efforts, not be worked into the ground then left to survive on scraps.
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