That great sector of the Australian community, retirees, is being set upon again by government. The issue has passed barely noticed in the media but the political consequences for the Turnbull Government are sure to be profound.
On January 1, 2017, changes to the aged care assets test will see more than 100,000 Australians lose their part pension payments in entirety. More than 300,000 will have their pension payments cut.
There is a perception many retirees are rolling in money. They have assets many could only dream of. Perhaps that’s why the media has shunned the issue.
Let me ask the question, who among us could lose 20 per cent of our household incomes and come away unscathed?
It gets worse. With the loss of the pension, the government will also cancel retirees’ pensioner concession cards which allow them to enjoy discounts on council rates, car rego, energy bills and public transport tickets. Back of the envelope, that’s three grand per annum retirees will have to find.
Full column here.
Yvonne – Re your 12.59pm on 16/12:
“Carl,
It may be appropriate in some instances, but, for example, for non-homeowners, it is manifestly unfair. There is no backup asset for them and yet, as Jack points out, they will lose 20-50% of their income.”
Yvonne, under the 2017 rebalancing of assets test arrangements, the asset free area for single non-homeowners will increase from $354,500 to $450,000 and for partnered non-homeowners it will increase from $440,500 to $575, 000. So in that respect non-homeowners will be potentially better off than previously.
Are we on the same wave length?
No Carl
I’m away at theoment and don’t have access to the numbers but from memory a non home-owner asset level at which the part pension cuts off altogether has been reduced from $937k to somewhere around $743k. The full pension is $23,660 pa or thereabouts. The bottom line is $450k. For every 1k over 450k the pension is reduced by $3 – it used to be $1.50. So the penalty has been doubled and the threshold lowered. Double whammy one might say. It has hit a fair number of people hard. Towards the lower end of the table of assets, say somewhere up to $300k, the part pension will increase.
The point is, Carl, retirement plans were made based on a set of numbers. Interest rates were up around 7-8%. Since then, not only has the Australian economy got itself into a mess, sharemarkets are a far riskier investment option and cash rates are heading towards zero. People are now forced into investment options that are riskier and make them anxious. It is ludicrous that by reducing assets (which may be achieved with expensive holidays or permissible gifts to children, up to 30k only though)one can he better off on the part pension.
The government is going to find itself with more applications for part pensions than it had before it got greedy. An acquaintance of mine is a Prof of Accounting at Melb uni – she agrees with this conclusion.
Hopefully Trump may swing the USA back on track. Or he may make things worse.
There are no two ways about this. Elderly folk are having to look for work all of a sudden. A friend of mine who I would have considered reasonably well off has found herself a couple of cleaning jobs to recoup their losses. Is this really what Turnbull wants? I’m sure my friend won’t be voting for him – nor will I. As usual the corporates and the very wealthy get favourable treatment
Henry Blofeld
It seems that Mitt Romney is destined to be the Celestial Republican Overlord! See link.
I didn’t know that but I have always intuitively known Santa is actually Satan. Banal, but how many names can you make out of Satan?
Agent of the Devil and Mammon is Santa , cunningly furthering his evil plan by drawing the focus away from the holiest of birthdays, that of sweet little baby Jesus our saviour who died for our sins.
Please join the on line petition to have Santa and the diabolical Christmas celebrations banned and replaced with a solemn celebration more appropriate to the life and sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
http://www.landoverbaptist.org/news1299/santy.html
Carl on the Coast 10:01PM
I haven’t seen Disneys sequel to “Alice in Wonderland” Carl, more your genre I should think.
Gores magnums opus , masterpiece to you, is by all intelligent accounts brilliantly researched and is highly recommended as a gift for the thinking reader. Since I am probably the only one of those you know, I am attaching an order form.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16054830-the-future
The sequel is better than the first one, JB. I “borrowed” my niece and nephew for the first one (my little girl lives in a different city with her mum) but it really wasn’t worth it. My missus made me go and see fantastic beasts last week. Avoid like the clap: i was trying to make myself fall asleep towards the end.
Jean Baptiste – re your follow up reference ; “I haven’t seen Disneys sequel to “Alice in Wonderland” Carl, more your genre I should think.”
Not really JB however, whilst I would never suggest you are a jabberwockey, Jubjub or even a banfersnatch JB, you may well have tickets on Theophilis Carter. Not because he wore a top hat, but he did have eccentric ideas eg. your: “Since I am probably the only one of those you know, I am attaching an order form. ”
Cheers me old mate
Razor 11:07pm
Yes the parents first alarmed at all this Razor saying they are “shut out” on information what is taught in classrooms thenn notifying a strong media presence sending politicians into a frenzy when challenged on education standards now in the news. It all started up at Castle Hill schools with many Chinese parents hit the road running at revenge on the Baird government and education minister. Worrying times with parents sending kids to these radical schools not following the curriculm.
RE:-shit out on information Rat…….I see that US Republicans are getting upset because negotiations about our refugee resettlement program are being kept secret and they are being “left in the dark”. Welcome to the real world, fellas, where secrecy in the Australian immigration department is paramount under Dutts.
I mean SHUT out on information…typo…new keyboard.
Not a Freudian slip?
Bassman .
In all respect in your education , you certainly lost badly comes to climate and weather .Think you are a student of the failed Tim Flannery ,know everything , but know nothing in what you talking about comes to climate and weather .
Best to say nothing, then , allow yourself to be indocrinated into idealogy before truth being common with you being all over the shop not believing the science reports saying more needs to be done to get absolute proof .
Michael Gordon of the SMH todays writes Mr Insider “Malcolm Turnbull will play the lead role in his own re-make of Mission Impossible in 2017, complete with a cast of villains and traitors and no end of unpredictable subplots. The storyline is familiar enough – our hero finally gets to put his stamp on the government he leads while keeping the malcontents at bay – though the recent climate change debacle highlights the potential for a very unhappy ending.” Time will tell how this pans out but it will take “ticker” and Turnbull seems to be lacking in that in spades.
http://tinyurl.com/jz2k282
Trivalve,08:56pm.
Little hasty typo error sir!,..(..dusturbed),..lets settle on this one TV!….disturbed.
Don’t get too alarmed over me Tv, just trying to get a bite out of Dismayed before the arrival of Santa Claus .
Don’t forget to leave a long neck out for this hard working old bugger Christmas night TV!
Superannuation is something that I should be concerned about, as I’m looking to retire in 5-7 years. However, it’s hard to get enthused about it. I’m hoping that I won’t need the age pension.
Is the whole age pension thing about people getting the government to pay for their upkeep so they can bequeath their huge assets to their children?
It shouldn’t be TO.
I do think the family home should be counted as an asset when calculating pension entitlements – but how that could be done is problematic.
These cuts to part pensions were unfair on non home-owners Renters. They had their pension cut by up to 50% in some cases Rents are going up and investment earnings going down. Not an encouraging scenario. They are going to land up with more applying for pensions faster than they would have. And it’s probably going to cost them government.
All very well one might say. But moving goalposts in the middle of a game is unfair.
Hey Bassy what do you think of this?
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/simon-birmingham-sanction-teachers-who-prosecute-political-agendas/news-story/9cfedc1de4f74c3d3fd77e2e241d8bd3
Classic government distraction technique, Razor. Coming on top of Dutton’s tub-thumping on 2GB, I would have thought it obvious. MYEFO’s coming next week. They’re going to need all the distractions they can get.
Hear, Hear.
I equate it with the Liberals conning everybody that the carbon tax was going to destroy cities and result in the end of the world. I equate it with a govt that was elected on a platform of killing Labor with debt and deficit lies and then goes ahead and adds $190billion to debt and tell us all everything is rosey.
Bassy – you appear to be exhibiting all the signs of having a comprehension gap between real life and realpolitik.
Please address the facts:-
1. The carbon tax was to be the end of the world as we know it
2. Gross debt is $190billion MORE than it was under Labor
Oops…….
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/terri-butler-settles-defamation-suit-with-qut-student-calum-thwaites/news-story/c34ba98142f06477fd5deffe03ea5aef
Jean Baptiste
I say JB, did you see that Al Gore is in the process of putting the finishing touches to a sequel of his ten-year old blockbuster “An Inconvenient Truth”?
Out early 2017!
Not sure if there’s any truth in the rumour that Al is taking a leaf out of the recent Walt Disney sequel of ‘Alice in Wonderland’.
Got any of the latest goss on that one me old mate?