National Seniors Australia
OLDER Australians struggling with the cost of living could receive extra help under a proposal for a new Pensioner Extra Concessions Card.
National Seniors Australia is calling for the card to sit alongside the existing Pensioner Concession Card and provide additional assistance to pensioners with the lowest incomes and fewest financial resources.
The idea is not to reduce any existing concessions.
Instead, it would allow governments to direct extra support to pensioners experiencing the greatest financial pressure, using income and asset information already collected through Age Pension assessments.
National Seniors Australia argues the current system does not distinguish between pensioners with significant assets and those with very limited savings.
That means pensioners with vastly different financial circumstances can receive the same concession entitlements.
Under the proposal, the additional card could be used to provide greater discounts or assistance with essentials such as electricity, council rates, medicines, transport and other everyday costs.
The push comes as research continues to show that pensioners are more likely than self-funded retirees to be worried about meeting basic household expenses.
In a National Seniors survey of more than 4000 Australians aged 50 and over, full pensioners reported the highest levels of concern about the cost of essentials including groceries, electricity, healthcare, transport and insurance.
A separate survey of 5400 older Australians also found people relying solely on the Age Pension were two to three times more likely to report being prevented from accessing healthcare because of cost than those with other sources of income.
The findings highlight just how different retirement can look from one household to another.
While some retirees have substantial savings, investments and superannuation, others depend entirely on the pension to pay for food, housing, bills and healthcare.
