Combined Pensioners and Superannuants Association Policy Coordinator Charmaine Crowe
The Coalition’s ‘Seniors Policy’ is a win for better-off retirees but does nothing to help pensioners with no assets or private income living on $350 a week

The Commonwealth Seniors Health Card can be accessed by millionaires providing their income comes from superannuation. That’s because the card’s income-test applies to taxable income only. Superannuation is tax-free for the over 60s, so retirees drawing down superannuation streams of, say, $200,000 a year, can get cheap medication and $795 a year to cover utility bills. Indexing the thresholds for the card without closing this loophole gives licence to rort Government income support.

CPSA welcomes the Coalition’s policy to provide incentive payments to encourage employers to take on older workers, which is a good start in addressing ageism in the workplace. But while this policy may result in some people getting a job, what happens after six months has elapsed and the older person suddenly finds themselves kicked out of their job after a ‘restructure’? The employer has pocketed the cash, and the older person is back at square one.

The policy also fails to provide assistance for older people to find a job. Job hunting is not easy when Newstart Allowance only provides $231 a week and the electricity and water bills keep rolling in. CPSA supports the removal of the age limit on Superannuation Guarantee eligibility, as well as a commitment to consider extending Government bond terms.

These policies though, are focussed on retirees who already have income and assets, who are typically in a better financial position than the majority of people over the age of 65 who live on a pension and little or nothing else.

CPSA calls on all political parties to address cost of living pressures facing pensioners and others on low incomes to ensure they can keep a roof over their head and pay the electricity bill.

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