Government Scraps Decision To Raise Pension Age To 70

It will stay at 67


Article heading image for Government Scraps Decision To Raise Pension Age To 70

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Pension groups and older Australians have welcomed the federal government's decision to scrap plans to lift the retirement age to 70.

The Combined Pensioners and Superannuants Association said the move made sense and means that many of the 100,000 people over 50 who are on the Newstart allowance won't have to wait an extra three years for the age pension.

"CPSA is very pleased that sustained campaigning against the pension-age-to-70 policy has paid off," the not-for-profit group's Paul Versteege said in a statement on Wednesday.

Council on the Ageing chief executive Ian Yates said raising the age to 70 had caused anxiety for many people.

He said the focus needed to be on removing barriers and increasing job opportunities for older Australians.

"It was the people who wanted to work, or who needed to work but knew it would be difficult to get a job that this caused anxiety for," he told AAP.

"It's much better placed for government to be supporting those people staying in work or getting back to work than increasing the pension age."

5 September 2018




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