If we received a dollar every time we heard someone say, ‘I can’t afford it unless I go back to work, then I will lose my pension,’ we’d probably be millionaires, if not billionaires. And we wouldn’t be surprised if you would be too. So when we stumbled upon this opinion piece written by Cherie Romaro we asked ourselves, why isn’t this front and centre news?

Day in and out we hear that Australia's unemployment is at an all-time low, yet we are facing one of the biggest labour shortages we’ve ever seen. Australian businesses are struggling to get employees on board so much so that they are offering people sign-up bonuses like an additional $50 just to show up to work, or $1,000 for starting a new job.

At the same time, there are millions of Australians on full or part pensions who are deliberately working just enough hours every fortnight, so when they submit their earnings to Centrelink they aren’t penalised, regardless of whether they could or want to do more work. It’s simply not worth the risk of losing the pension, because at the end of the day, that extra hour, shift, or day’s worth of work, isn’t enough to cover the pension that they lose as a result of doing the extra work. We’re sure many of you have faced this dilemma in the past and we’ve seen some discussions about it on the forum.

Pensioners may be the solution. Image source: Shutterstock.
​

We know pensioners can earn up to $300 a fortnight or $7,800 a year without impacting their entitlements. That’s $150 a week and we all know $150 isn’t getting anyone too far nowadays. In fact, you’re lucky if $150 is consistently covering your weekly grocery shop for a two-person household. Not to mention, if you earn more than that $300 a fortnight, you’re of course penalised, and receive a lower pension.

Australia is in desperate need of workers in sectors ranging from health, education, hospitality, agriculture, and many more, and instead of talking about bringing pensioners back into the workforce without any penalties, we are talking about bringing workers in from overseas. Now, we at the SDC want to make it known, that we have nothing against bringing overseas workers to Australia, what we do not understand, is why, if we have millions of Australians here, ready and willing to go to work, but can’t because they will get penalised, are we not just changing this penalty? New Zealand has been doing it for years!

And there are so many benefits to doing so. If you could rejoin the workforce without any penalties, or with at least a reduced penalty, you would pay tax on their earnings AND would likely spend more, which boosts the economy. Not to mention, you bring skills and experience that no one in the current workforce has. Your potential to mentor younger generations is quite literally priceless.

The benefits do not end here (of course, they don’t) Ms Romaro makes an extremely good point when she says that ‘there is proof that older people being socially interactive and working longer delays mental and physical decline, which dramatically affects costs of our aged care and health systems.’ So not only would pensioners being in the workforce boost the economy, it could reduce the stress on our aged and healthcare systems, which in turn boosts the economy even more.

We absolutely loved this statistic that Ms Romaro pulled from Deloitte Access Economics, so much so that we would like to conclude with it. ‘If we had an additional 5 per cent of Australians over the age of 55 back in the workforce, it would boost GDP by $48 billion.’

What do you think about pensioners having to deliberately work less to avoid financial penalties? Do you do this yourself? If the government changed the penalty or got rid of it, would you work more than you currently do? Some pensioners may not wish to rejoin the workforce but shouldn’t we leave that decision in their capable hands?

 

[Alexander]

If we received a dollar every time we heard someone say, ‘I can’t afford it unless I go back to work, then I will lose my pension,’ we’d probably be millionaires, if not billionaires. And we wouldn’t be surprised if you would be too. So when we stumbled upon this opinion piece written by Cherie Romaro we asked ourselves, why isn’t this front and centre news?

Day in and out we hear that Australia's unemployment is at an all-time low, yet we are facing one of the biggest labour shortages we’ve ever seen. Australian businesses are struggling to get employees on board so much so that they are offering people sign-up bonuses like an additional $50 just to show up to work, or $1,000 for starting a new job.

At the same time, there are millions of Australians on full or part pensions who are deliberately working just enough hours every fortnight, so when they submit their earnings to Centrelink they aren’t penalised, regardless of whether they could or want to do more work. It’s simply not worth the risk of losing the pension, because at the end of the day, that extra hour, shift, or day’s worth of work, isn’t enough to cover the pension that they lose as a result of doing the extra work. We’re sure many of you have faced this dilemma in the past and we’ve seen some discussions about it on the forum.

View attachment 4887
Pensioners may be the solution. Image source: Shutterstock.
​

We know pensioners can earn up to $300 a fortnight or $7,800 a year without impacting their entitlements. That’s $150 a week and we all know $150 isn’t getting anyone too far nowadays. In fact, you’re lucky if $150 is consistently covering your weekly grocery shop for a two-person household. Not to mention, if you earn more than that $300 a fortnight, you’re of course penalised, and receive a lower pension.

Australia is in desperate need of workers in sectors ranging from health, education, hospitality, agriculture, and many more, and instead of talking about bringing pensioners back into the workforce without any penalties, we are talking about bringing workers in from overseas. Now, we at the SDC want to make it known, that we have nothing against bringing overseas workers to Australia, what we do not understand, is why, if we have millions of Australians here, ready and willing to go to work, but can’t because they will get penalised, are we not just changing this penalty? New Zealand has been doing it for years!

And there are so many benefits to doing so. If you could rejoin the workforce without any penalties, or with at least a reduced penalty, you would pay tax on their earnings AND would likely spend more, which boosts the economy. Not to mention, you bring skills and experience that no one in the current workforce has. Your potential to mentor younger generations is quite literally priceless.

The benefits do not end here (of course, they don’t) Ms Romaro makes an extremely good point when she says that ‘there is proof that older people being socially interactive and working longer delays mental and physical decline, which dramatically affects costs of our aged care and health systems.’ So not only would pensioners being in the workforce boost the economy, it could reduce the stress on our aged and healthcare systems, which in turn boosts the economy even more.

We absolutely loved this statistic that Ms Romaro pulled from Deloitte Access Economics, so much so that we would like to conclude with it. ‘If we had an additional 5 per cent of Australians over the age of 55 back in the workforce, it would boost GDP by $48 billion.’

What do you think about pensioners having to deliberately work less to avoid financial penalties? Do you do this yourself? If the government changed the penalty or got rid of it, would you work more than you currently do? Some pensioners may not wish to rejoin the workforce but shouldn’t we leave that decision in their capable hands?

Because I own a house I am not entitled to any Centrelink Pension. Our local tip shop was looking for additional staff and one of the posts vacant was manning the gatehouse and collecting any fees necessary as well as directing the clients to whatever part of the recycling centre they wanted to go. I offered my services but they employed a much younger person who is doing well and my best wishes go with her. My application was not even acknowledged. Par for the course? I used to manage a branch of Purle Waste Disposal in the UK before they were bought out by Cleanaway so I had a fair idea as to what would be required. Whether pensioners are to be employed or not is up to the employer, I agree, but there should be no penalisation in the way of loss of pension. Lots of fit and healthy pensioners would love to have some part time work. It helps to maintain a balance in their lives.

 

[Baz1960]

I noticed you said your friends and partner are encouraging you to go back to work. Is this what you really want? I am retired and volunteer one morning a week. I could do more days if I wanted to. I love it. ❤

Thanks for asking. They are suggesting for my mental health. Agree about volunteering, just can't find the right fit. I haven't stopped looking. Cheers

 

[My Boys]

If we received a dollar every time we heard someone say, ‘I can’t afford it unless I go back to work, then I will lose my pension,’ we’d probably be millionaires, if not billionaires. And we wouldn’t be surprised if you would be too. So when we stumbled upon this opinion piece written by Cherie Romaro we asked ourselves, why isn’t this front and centre news?

Day in and out we hear that Australia's unemployment is at an all-time low, yet we are facing one of the biggest labour shortages we’ve ever seen. Australian businesses are struggling to get employees on board so much so that they are offering people sign-up bonuses like an additional $50 just to show up to work, or $1,000 for starting a new job.

At the same time, there are millions of Australians on full or part pensions who are deliberately working just enough hours every fortnight, so when they submit their earnings to Centrelink they aren’t penalised, regardless of whether they could or want to do more work. It’s simply not worth the risk of losing the pension, because at the end of the day, that extra hour, shift, or day’s worth of work, isn’t enough to cover the pension that they lose as a result of doing the extra work. We’re sure many of you have faced this dilemma in the past and we’ve seen some discussions about it on the forum.

View attachment 4887
Pensioners may be the solution. Image source: Shutterstock.
​

We know pensioners can earn up to $300 a fortnight or $7,800 a year without impacting their entitlements. That’s $150 a week and we all know $150 isn’t getting anyone too far nowadays. In fact, you’re lucky if $150 is consistently covering your weekly grocery shop for a two-person household. Not to mention, if you earn more than that $300 a fortnight, you’re of course penalised, and receive a lower pension.

Australia is in desperate need of workers in sectors ranging from health, education, hospitality, agriculture, and many more, and instead of talking about bringing pensioners back into the workforce without any penalties, we are talking about bringing workers in from overseas. Now, we at the SDC want to make it known, that we have nothing against bringing overseas workers to Australia, what we do not understand, is why, if we have millions of Australians here, ready and willing to go to work, but can’t because they will get penalised, are we not just changing this penalty? New Zealand has been doing it for years!

And there are so many benefits to doing so. If you could rejoin the workforce without any penalties, or with at least a reduced penalty, you would pay tax on their earnings AND would likely spend more, which boosts the economy. Not to mention, you bring skills and experience that no one in the current workforce has. Your potential to mentor younger generations is quite literally priceless.

The benefits do not end here (of course, they don’t) Ms Romaro makes an extremely good point when she says that ‘there is proof that older people being socially interactive and working longer delays mental and physical decline, which dramatically affects costs of our aged care and health systems.’ So not only would pensioners being in the workforce boost the economy, it could reduce the stress on our aged and healthcare systems, which in turn boosts the economy even more.

We absolutely loved this statistic that Ms Romaro pulled from Deloitte Access Economics, so much so that we would like to conclude with it. ‘If we had an additional 5 per cent of Australians over the age of 55 back in the workforce, it would boost GDP by $48 billion.’

What do you think about pensioners having to deliberately work less to avoid financial penalties? Do you do this yourself? If the government changed the penalty or got rid of it, would you work more than you currently do? Some pensioners may not wish to rejoin the workforce but shouldn’t we leave that decision in their capable hands?

I am 71 and have been working lately as it keeps me sane instead of sitting around at home. You can only do so much around the house so that is why I picked up some work and am enjoying meeting different people . It has NOT altered my pension as I work under the hrs and amount I can get before losing any pension

 

[My Boys]

I;m the lucky last having all ahead of me. Katiej immediately above is confusing me. Am I under a different sky to her? OR am I reading her wrong? I've never heard of anyone having to give Workers, Comp back. Have you? Not having to call on it I am immensely interested. Given in one hand & taking back with the other is despicable to say the least. Lets me out of voting either way. No wonder they give themselves raises from time to time. Daylight robbery I call it. I am telling you if that had happened to me, I would have gone to jail to prove my point. Surely I am reading it wrong???? That is like the Gov't giving charity then wanting it back. Truly, I am gob smacked. Someone help me please. You all know I live with truth & we are all friends helping one another in this great Club.

I injured myself at work many years ago doing aged care and received Workers Comp for 4weeks and never had to pay back when I returned to work so I really can't understand how Katie had to.

 

[Siak28]

Workers Comp is payment for wages lost whist recovering from a work-related injury, if you have received an insurance payout in this time and your injury may prevent you from returning to work the insurance company will pay from the date of your injury so will deduct the workers comp payments from your insurance payout out, as you are not entitled to be paid twice for the same injury. No matter how aggrieved you may feel, it's just cold economics.