Recent content by smg

Really? Name-calling? I called you "Trudi". You can't even get my initials correct. But yes, you are acting all superior - still.

And good for you. You dived into property head first. In your righteous wrath though, maybe you should ponder that not everyone has those opportunities or wants that level of debt - at ANY time. With any luck, if our financial ducks line up as they should, we won't NEED the pension either. But...

Babbie, just fyi in 42 years of constant employment & work, I have received a grand total of SIX WEEKS "social security" income - the dole - when I finished school. It was about $90.00 a week. That's it, that's all & I'm quite proud of that. If you think it unfair, grasping or "entitled" of me...

Grow up Trudi. I don't want YOUR taxes & would throw them back in your face. I want MY taxes & MY contribution recognised is all. If you don't get the age pension then you must be well off & can look down your nose at others. Good luck with that. You seem to be good at it.

"Simply paying Tax for a lifetime does NOT entitle anyone to the Age Pension." I just have to reply to this. What utter BS! I was brought up on "The Social Compact": "Finish school, get a job, work hard, pay your taxes, look after the country, get to retirement & the country will look after...

Agree. My Wife was 15 years out of the workforce & has stuff-all in her Super. Mine would be JUST enough to see us through to 67 (I'm 60 now) if we had to use it. Fortunately, I can still work part-time.

Exactly. I've been working 42 years, 39 in Transport & my body is worn out at 60. I've had 3 x reconstructions & 1 replacement - all wear, tear & accidents along the way.

Agree entirely. I've been a Courier/Delivery Driver for 39 years, 13 as an Owner-Driver. My body too is worn out at 60. I've had a knee reconstruction, replacement, hernia, foot reconstruction & shoulder reconstructions along the way all due to wear, tear & accidents. Luckily I can still work...

That's fine, IF you have the spare $ to put in there. That has never been possible for us. Bringing up 4 active kids & paying the mortgage, power, gas, food & rates bills took every spare dollar. And that was with me working a 12-hour day in Transport.

Singomate - I hear you. I've been in Transport - mostly Road-freight - for 39 years & would still be there except for redundancies at my work 2 years ago. I'm still Driving but part-time in a much lighter occupation. I've had a knee reconstruction, then a replacement, a hernia op. then early...

"Contributing more to your Super" is fine - IF you have the spare $ to do that. For the 15 years that we were on one income while the kids came along we were JUST able to make ends meet each week & put a little aside for a single 2-week family holiday once a year. Even when my Wife went back to...

Exactly. I've been in Transport 39 years & counting but had to have 2 bouts of reconstructive surgery early this year - & 3 months off - purely to fix "wear & tear" problems. I saw an ex-workmate yesterday. He's 70 but looks 80 & really struggling with stairs.

I completely understand that the pension has to be funded, but increasing the age-accessibility actually punishes the Retiree in the process. Not everyone has a million $ in their Super, particularly Women who may have been out of the workforce for many years. At 60yo I've been working...

Sorry, but especially today that's just not realistic. How many 19yo's or 20-something's think about retirement & saving for it? That's precisely why compulsory Super was brought in. Then you have today's cost-of-living pressures & the sheer cost of renting or buying/building a property &...

Mercedes aren't graciously offering to fix this "free of charge" - like the industry-wide Takata airbag saga they have no damn choice. Australian law compels them make this fix. Why try & sugar-coat it?