This millennial reckons baby boomers have had it 'too easy"

Many elderly people didn't have the availability of Super during their working lives. I think it only became compulsory in the early 90's.
People working since then and accumulating Super, I agree, should not be a drain on the public purse.
Remembering not everybody wants to be a property investor, or for that matter an investor at all.

 

Relatively new concept the pension yet I have been amazed by the uptake/general acceptance of it

 

That is the biggest pile of bull.hit I have ever read on PC. You have no ******* idea.

I am in my 60’s. The Government told people like my parents that, if you work hard and pay your taxes, the Government would look after you in retirement.

That is exact what my parents did. They worked their butts off, paid their taxes (didn’t even attempt to minimise their tax) and in their old age, they claimed the pension.

I am retired and you are not paying for it.

I am self funded. When I started work in 1977, I was told I would have to fund my retirement as the Aged Pension wouldn’t be around.

So, I worked hard, educated myself, took multiple risks (eg owned 4 businesses in my working life), invested in property, invested in shares, ...

What gets my goat is all of those from my generation and later ones who didn’t do what I did.

Their strategy is to supplement their miserly Super balances/pension with the Aged Pension. That wasn’t the original idea but it is becoming the plan for many.

 

Eligibility for the Age Pension should be tightened up. At the same time the Disability Pension should also be tightened up because people disallowed for the Age Pension will want to apply for the Disability Pension.

The Commonwealth has progressively increased the eligibility age for the Pension.

'From 1 July 2017, the qualifying age for the Age Pension increased from 65 years to 65 years and six months. The qualifying age will increase by six months every two years, reaching 67 years by 1 July 2023. You can get more information at the Department of Human Services website.'

If the government takes up the recommendations of the Grattan Institute, there are more ways to tighten up eligibility for the Age Pension.


Grattan Institute takes another pot-shot at retirement income policy

 

Exactly. Damned if we do, damned if we don't. There is also the bit where we employed 20+ professional people for 20+ years. Worked 60-80hrs/week year in year out because it was your business and you felt responsible for making sure there was work for the 20+ employees because they all had families, mortgages etc. No pressure/stress there - you had it easy. lol

 

Up until the 1940s workers paid income tax and also a separate social security tax specifically to fund their pension. As now, the government saw this pot of money and decided to roll it into general revenue. People were told tax amounts would not reduce, and pensions would be paid out of general revenue.

And no, I don’t get anything. Fully self funded. Can’t even get a health care card, hence today’s pharmacy bill for $357 (hubby in hospital).
Marg

 

i agree. you dont have to be an investor, with super+ savings you just need to know that you need to save for your own retirement, or have enough investment return. as long as you look after yourself its fine. how you get there don't matter.

believing in the government. there is the no.1 problem. granted politics is not like now.
but still if we learn anything is to never completely believe in the government.

that was the system then, clearly its not working. hence there wont be a need for private system
Hence Pension and Supa system
public and private health care system

this private + public combo nonsense need to stop.


oh ya for those who done well, who is now self fund, paid tax for x number of years and now is retiring.
but your above the asset/income test.. Where is your pension now ?

 

You beat me to it! There was a separate fund for pensions, but it got rolled into general revenue & now spent. Of course oldies think they are entitled to a pension, because that is WHAT THEY WERE TOLD BY THE GOVERNMENT.

No, it's not working now BECAUSE THE GOVERNMENT IS SPENDING IT on often frivolous stuff AND they have sold off all their income producing assets.

What has to stop is the small mindedness and short sightedness of the politicians. Ooh, lets sell this & reap this cash NOW. Who cares about the future, I won't be in office then. It's the same as someone having an asset that pays for all their living expenses, and will forever if kept & maintained, but sells it off to buy a yacht, a world tour & a Lamborghini. All of a sudden they now need more income to fund their lifestyle.

 

Sounds like you are relatively young.

There was a time in the not-too-distant past where Governments were trustworthy and believed in looking after their constituents.

Untrustworthy Governments is a relatively new phenomenon; they now put themselves first.

Where it has always been, in our SMSF.

 

Safely invested.
Marg

 

ok i word it badly, what i meant is your share of the aged pension. not your investments.

what i meant it is that its not fair for people like you who invested well, look after their own retirement BUT pay the same amount of tax throughout their earning life but the same promised by the government is not available to people like you because you dont pass the asset/income tax.

 

I never expected to get the Aged Pension, so no disappointment here. I think it is only right and fair that we have a safety net like the Aged Pension.

Besides, I don’t want to Government to dictate my level of lifestyle.

I would rather my lifestyle than have one funded by the Aged Pension.

 

It’s called a society.

Through taxes:
People who don’t have children contribute to education costs.
People who never break the law contribute to police costs.
People who are never sick contribute to Medicare and hospitals.
People with no medical issues contribute to disability pensions and costs.
People who have never been unemployed contribute to Newstart allowances.
People who don’t own a car contribute to road and highway construction.

The list is endless.
Marg

 

if these statements was true,
Australian politics - no full term PM since John Howard
Donald Trump
Brexit.
Yemen
Global Warming
middle class pays more taxes than MNC
the list could go one

Your ideal of society is called the willing supporting the lazy and irresponsible.

People who don’t have children contribute to education costs.
Fair enough, but they lose out on children benefit because they dont have children.

People who never break the law contribute to police costs.
its a penalty for people who dont break the law and have to pay for law breakers ??
people should not get punished for doing the right thing ?

People who are never sick contribute to Medicare and hospitals.
No one never gets sick, its just that either you die before you get sick.
Also, we pay 45% tax and now there is a medicare levy on top of that ? and forces us to get private regardless of whether we want it or not ?

People with no medical issues contribute to disability pensions and costs.
Disability levy on top of 45% tax again, isn't that what the basic tax is for?

People who have never been unemployed contribute to Newstart allowances.
they should get employed. not paid to stay unemployed. i understand sometimes people are down on luck or times are bad, hence u set a limit. Not Unlimited allowances until your new start turn into aged pension.

People who don’t own a car contribute to road and highway construction.
Again, paying for something they don't use. there is an argument is that even if you don't own a vehicle you still use the road in some form
but this is why we have road tax and if you buy a car above a certain value there is luxury car tax, and public transport users pay a fee.

 

I agree, thats why we should all support the 1990s Somalia model of civil society

No taxes and therefore no having to pay for others education or infrastructure that does not directly attach to your house. Free of any defence force spending, police, ambulance, fire. Nothing on health. The disabled are just euthanized at birth. Those handicapped later, just left to die if no family care. Extra kids as a bonus can be sold as slaves....remember ..no police..woohoo.

Public transport...snicker...Mental health..haha..womens health..hilarious

No pesky environmental regulations, water is free of any sort of filtering. All food purchased is caveat empor. Lather on those chinese pesticides. Of course no gun or any weapon control. From AK-47 to SAM, its all yours if the price is right. The only border is the edge of your house, welcome everybody.

Lead is free to return to fuel, asbestos to housing..how about some mercury with that cup of tea.

Its all ok

Its Utopia

 

lets live in somalia

if you read my previous post.

i didnt say no tax

i just say lower tax and decrease waste.

i didnt say tax is unnecessary.. just that there is no need for a 45% tax rate, and minimum rate starting at 32.5%. (i am aware of the 19% tax but if u work full time your paying 32.5% + )

 

And will you be standing for election in May with a tax package raising the minimum rate to 32.5%?

 

i dont have voting rights let alone election rights!

 

The reason the pensions doesn't work is that it was bought in, in 1900-10, with a retirement age of 65 for men and 60 for women.

The reason it worked was that the average lifespan was 53 for men and 58 for women - so most died before they reached pension age. The pension was designed for those who could not physically work due to age - not to go cruising and sipping lattes for 30 years

Back in the "good ole days" there were 10 people working for every person on the aged pension - nowadays there are only 2 people working for every aged pensioner ... but every time the government tries to raise the retirement age all hell breaks loose.

If we we were to following the original intention of the aged pension - retirement age would be around 85 in 2018

1301.0 - Year Book Australia, 1988
3302.0 - Deaths, Australia, 2009