TIME out . . . Alphonsa James, 61, with his grandson Theo Simpson, 4, says he wants to be capable of enjoying the company of his grandchildren when he retires. Picture: Rob Maccoll
Mr James, whose parents both died in their 60s, said he was hoping to reach his retirement age in reasonable health so he would have a few years to enjoy his grandchildren.
But defending the higher pension age, Mr Swan has highlighted the longer life expectancy of today's retirees – with an average Australian man likely to live for more than 19 years after retirement by 2017, up from 11 years of retirement a century ago.
An Australian Bureau of Statistics report last year also found older workers were slightly healthier compared with their non-working counterparts.
The report found mature age workers – aged 45 to 74 – had lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, obesity and arthritis.
The Committee for Economic Development of Australia is also supporting the move, predicting a saving of about $800 million a year in pension payments alone.
CEDA chief executive David Byers said two more years in the workforce could deliver a huge boost to retirees' personal retirement savings, increasing their quality of life in the later years. [rc]
© 2009 Queensland Newspapers
June 27, 2009
AUSTRALIA: Later retirement age in Australia creates anger
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BRISBANE, Queensland / Courier-Mail / National News / June 27, 2009
By Melanie Christiansen
FORCING older workers to wait until they are 67 to qualify for the age pension has little public support, a new poll has revealed.
Under the plan announced by Treasurer Wayne Swan in last month's Federal Budget, the pension qualifying age will be gradually stepped up from 65 in 2017, to reach 67 by 2023.
The move, which has the political backing of the Opposition, follows concern about Australia's capacity to pay age pensions into the future, given its ageing population.
But a Galaxy poll, conducted exclusively for The Courier-Mail, has found less than a third of Queensland voters – only 28 per cent – agree with the decision.
Of the 800 voters surveyed, 69 per cent opposed the increased pension age, while 3 per cent were uncommitted.
Seizing on the poll result, the Combined Pensioners and Superannuants Association yesterday demanded the Government abandon the move.
Policy co-ordinator Charmaine Crowe said it would force more elderly Australians into poverty. "It's going to disproportionately disadvantage those on low incomes," she said. "Cleaners, people in the hospitality industry, construction workers, landscapers, truck drivers . . . These people may not have the physical capacity to continue working full time."
Ms Crowe said unless they qualified for a disability pension, those older Australians would be forced to rely on the "grossly inadequate" Newstart allowance - a maximum of just $226.30 for a single person.
She said those who lost a job or couldn't find an employer willing to take on a 65 or 66-year-old would also be forced on to Newstart.
Echoing that concern, 61-year-old Brisbane factory hand Alphonsa James said the politicians who decided to lift the pension age were pen-pushers, who did not understand the toll it would take on ageing workers in physically demanding jobs. "I don't think I would be able to make it until 67," he said. "It's putting more strain on your body and you're going to kick the bucket very, very quick."
TIME out . . . Alphonsa James, 61, with his grandson Theo Simpson, 4, says he wants to be capable of enjoying the company of his grandchildren when he retires. Picture: Rob Maccoll
Mr James, whose parents both died in their 60s, said he was hoping to reach his retirement age in reasonable health so he would have a few years to enjoy his grandchildren.
But defending the higher pension age, Mr Swan has highlighted the longer life expectancy of today's retirees – with an average Australian man likely to live for more than 19 years after retirement by 2017, up from 11 years of retirement a century ago.
An Australian Bureau of Statistics report last year also found older workers were slightly healthier compared with their non-working counterparts.
The report found mature age workers – aged 45 to 74 – had lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, obesity and arthritis.
The Committee for Economic Development of Australia is also supporting the move, predicting a saving of about $800 million a year in pension payments alone.
CEDA chief executive David Byers said two more years in the workforce could deliver a huge boost to retirees' personal retirement savings, increasing their quality of life in the later years. [rc]
© 2009 Queensland Newspapers
TIME out . . . Alphonsa James, 61, with his grandson Theo Simpson, 4, says he wants to be capable of enjoying the company of his grandchildren when he retires. Picture: Rob Maccoll
Mr James, whose parents both died in their 60s, said he was hoping to reach his retirement age in reasonable health so he would have a few years to enjoy his grandchildren.
But defending the higher pension age, Mr Swan has highlighted the longer life expectancy of today's retirees – with an average Australian man likely to live for more than 19 years after retirement by 2017, up from 11 years of retirement a century ago.
An Australian Bureau of Statistics report last year also found older workers were slightly healthier compared with their non-working counterparts.
The report found mature age workers – aged 45 to 74 – had lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, obesity and arthritis.
The Committee for Economic Development of Australia is also supporting the move, predicting a saving of about $800 million a year in pension payments alone.
CEDA chief executive David Byers said two more years in the workforce could deliver a huge boost to retirees' personal retirement savings, increasing their quality of life in the later years. [rc]
© 2009 Queensland Newspapers
