Pensioners will welcome the significant increase today in the age pension to historically unprecedented levels, but older Australians left languishing on the inadequate Newstart Allowance will question why their needs have been ignored, said seniors advocate COTA Australia.
COTA Chief Executive Ian Yates said the pension boost would make it easier for seniors to deal with the escalating cost of essential services but leave behind the quarter of Newstart recipients who are over 50.
“An increase for pensioners of $35.80 a fortnight for singles and $54 for couples will take some of the pressure off older people trying to stretch their budgets to keep up with food, electricity and housing costs,” Mr Yates said.
“These increases bring the single pension to over $800 per fortnight for singles and over $1218 for couples as a direct result of the major reforms in 2009 which index pensions at the highest of three different indexes.
“However the government continues to leave many tens of thousands of older people struggling to make ends meet on Newstart Allowance with little prospect of ever being re-employed.
“It is little known that a quarter of all Newstart recipients are over 50 years.
“The chasm between Newstart and pension allowances just got wider, as older people on Newstart try to live on around $100 per fortnight less than those on the pension, without the additional healthcare and concession benefits pensioners receive.
“People can’t receive the pension until the age of 65, soon to increase to 67. For those who might have lost their jobs in their 50s and been unable to get another job, often because of age discrimination, poverty is well entrenched by the time they are eligible for the pension.
“Social welfare advocates have called for an increase to Newstart Allowance of at least $50/week in the May Budget, and to then be appropriately indexed.
“The government needs to resolve the contradiction between its positive action on pensions and leaving older unemployed people in poverty.”
Media contact: Ian Yates 0418 835 439, Olivia Greentree 0439 411 774
