Thread: Pension Age may move to 70

Originally Posted by Pickles2

Well, where & how, will Pensions be funded in the future?
Aging population, people want more & more benefits, more & more Govt spending for Health, Education, Welfare etc etc etc...EVERYONE is looking for "MORE".
I say it's all "unsustainable",.....unless, taxation increases,.......but no-one wants that, do they,...so how will Pensions be funded?
Cheers, Pickles.

Magic.

That is why the "Superannuation Guarantee" was introduced. To reduce the need for the pension.

Originally Posted by Mick_Marsh

Magic.

That is why the "Superannuation Guarantee" was introduced. To reduce the need for the pension.

Exactly right. People should be encouraged to take their retirement planning into their own hands.

''A strong superannuation system lets ordinary workers retire with security and quality of life and takes pressure off the pension system.''

Just wish they would stop playing with the rules as to how much you can salary sacrifice etc.

Originally Posted by Mick_Marsh

Magic.

That is why the "Superannuation Guarantee" was introduced. To reduce the need for the pension.

By whom, a politician that use his pen to change the rules?
Look what happens to people earning less than $37,000 a year, just 3.5 million of them.

Originally Posted by Chucaro

By whom, a politician that use his pen to change the rules?
Look what happens to people earning less than $37,000 a year, just 3.5 million of them.

I did say "reduce the need". I would expect a pension or part pension would still be available to those that have assets below a threshhold. What we have saved through the "Superannuation Guarantee" will reduce pressure on the pension system. I would expect, by the time I retire, to get a part pension if not no pension at all. That is assuming I can be gainfully employed again between now and then.

I don't want to be a burden on my kids when I retire, either directly, or indirectly through the tax system. I'll be doing my best to ensure that my super is going to be adequate for retirement, and if that means working until I'm 70, then so be it.

Two facts spring to mind when I read this thread. Firstly, when the age pension was first introduced, 65 was picked as the age because almost nobody live that long, and any one that made it would usually be well and truly beyond being able to be a productive member of society. That is not the case now. Yes, there are people that are ill or injured to the point where they can't work easily, particularly in manual trades, and that is what the disability pension is for.

Second, about 1/3 of all tax dollars spent on health is spent in the last 5 years of people's lives, just keeping them going (no reference, sorry, but a reliable source). Yet we can't afford decent dental cover for children and teenagers.

The issues here are not really legislative - they're about attitudes and values in Australia. Attitudes to the value of older workers, and the value placed on extending life regardless of long term outcomes and cost.

PS, to people out there in the trades complaining about desk-dwellers, I worked at CQUniversity for a few years, as a tutor for first year engineering students, and we had plenty of tradies in their 30s and 40s upgrading their quals to a degree. Great way to increase your income and shine the seat of the trousers ready for retirement.

Well I'm now 60 and will be retiring from the workforce in around six months and taking six months LSL at half pay. So when I reach 62 I will be relying on what I have managed to scrounge together in 46 years of working. Having to give away half my super 4 years ago and buy half the house again hasn't helped any either.

It wont be a lot, but "I" consider it will be "enough".

For those who dont know what they'll do when they've retired, I feel sorry for you, as there's far more to life than working for a living.

Joe Hockey confirms pension age could rise to 70

“That no changes to pension promise is about to be broken"

Read more: Joe Hockey confirms pension age could rise to 70
Read more: Joe Hockey confirms pension age could rise to 70
Joe Hockey confirms pension age could rise to 70

This will give me so much schadenfreude...