Retired, Equity a plenty, Living off the pension.

Quality contribution. nice variation on "well i'm offended by that and you need to calm down".

 

to hell with it, that pretty much wipes out the human species

 

I feel the same way about that sort of list as I feel about religions that cap the number of spots in their heaven/afterlife. I don't fancy my odds of making the cut, therefore I'm not going to support it.

 

... and I forgot to add in the Unemployed. Haha.

Geez, without trying I think I might have solved Australia's debt and deficit problem, all with one policy.

Is it too late for me to nominate myself for today's Federal Election?

 

Do you feel the same way about asylum seekers?


The prospect of forcing retirees to sell up in order to realise cash flow to live, is not one that sits well with me. But I also think that retirees sitting on properties with oodles of equity and still claiming full pensions as those assets are exempt from asset tests, is ludicrous.

I dont see why every retiree claiming an age pension cant be asked to enter into a reverse mortgage with an Australian Govt statuatory authority at the cash rate of the day, up to a maximum of 50% LVR, so that the age pension paid to them can be recovered upon death.

This would allow them to stay in their houses, but also draw down a pension to see out their lives... and it would be affordable for the nation.

Like it or not, Lib, Labor , Green or Independent - we have both a revenue and an expenditure issue and these sorts of things will have to be introduced one day.

 

valuations costs $200-300, and you'd be doing one - when the reverse mortgage is established... just like you do now when you set up a mortgage. Another isnt required unless a top up is applied for. The pension paid to people over many years is far greater than $200-300

 

No you couldnt. Believe me. I worked at Centrelink for 13 years. That will not fly

 

Why not?

PPOR is exempt, and I would meet the requirements of the asset and income test for the age pension. I have not gifted any money.
Marg

 

It won't help the housing situation, PG - but it might help the welfare situation...at least until they die.

After which (unless the owners sell earlier); then the property can become townhouses.

 

OMG...you would have seen some stellar specimens

 

I worked in the forerunner of Centrelink, the Department of Social Security, back in the 1970s.

And yes, lots of interesting stories!!
Marg

 

I don't like the idea of the elderly having to sell their PPOR. I don't like the idea of a death tax either.
If one was in the position where they need/take a pension from the government, could the government keep a tab. When the person dies, the deceased estate pays / repays the pension taken. I would think this a fair system. If you need the pension because you have nothing - then you have nothing to pay back. If you take a pension to help you see out your days in the family home then you repay on death. If you were a self-funded retiree who did not take a pension you would not penalised (as you would be with a death tax).

 

Yes, this makes sense that any 'mutual obligation' the OO has in the days of living on the pension in the PPOR will be the pension and concessions. If the repayment to the public were restricted to the pensions, the pensioner is ahead by the special benefits and concessions as a pensioner. On the other hand the government would have a stream of revenue to top up funds for its budget.

I can imagine that schemes will be hatched to enable the pensioner to hollow out the equity in the PPOR.

 

Your existing PPOR is exempt, but your other assets are assessed under the asset test. But if you sold off other assets and pocketed a profit and then reinvested those profits into an upgraded PPOR in order to avoid the asset test...not quite the same .

 

I worked at Auburn, Blacktown, Penrith, Mt Druitt - so yes.

 

So if a retired person sells their PPOR, they cannot upgrade without Centrelink penalty?
Marg

 

I agree. I don't want to force anyone out of their home. At the same time, I have seen pensioners barely able to feed themselves but it is effectively too expensive to move to a smaller house because of all the disincentives. I would like to see some policies to assist pensioners to downsize if they choose to.

Put it this way. We want pensioners to downsize? Simple. Make sure they are better off, not worse off if they do.

 

I don't like the use of the term schemes. You are not evil if you follow the rules of the government of the day. Their money, their equity. Your point is not dissimilar to the pensioner who potentially spent their surplus income throughout their life on things other than a PPOR.

However, I was of the thinking that a reverse mortgage, guarantor arrangement or a sale would negate a government pension agreement. I could see some elderly folk being in favour of this arrangement. If they were to venture down the reverse mortgage (essentially an equity pull), it could be much harder to say no to their children who have may be pressuring for a hand out.

 

That's not what I said, to be fair. You have changed your question ....

Previously - "if we were so inclined, we could sell our PPOR AND cash in our investments and buy a multi million dollar PPOR, keeping back just enough to meet the income and asset cut-off amounts"

Now - "So if a retired person sells their PPOR, they cannot upgrade without Centrelink penalty?"


Your first question goes to Centrelinks treatment of the money received from selling of a PPOR and from selling INVESTMENTS, before reinvesting that money in a new PPOR.
Your second goes to Centrelinks treatment of the money received from selling of a PPOR , before reinvesting that money in a new PPOR.

• proceeds from the sale of your principal home you intend to use to purchase another within 12 months. The funds will be used in the calculation of your financial assets to determine the deemed income under the deeming provisions

• 

 

Thank god us Employers are now being gouged to the tune of 10.5% on top of their weekly wage to help fund these donkeys when they get to pensionerville.