The Bad Budget News for FiftyUps

As with any Budget, there is good and bad news for FiftyUps and their hip pockets this week.

Here is our summary of the measures that could affect FiftyUps in a NEGATIVE way.

To read the other side of the story, click on the link at the bottom of this page.

The Bad News

• Pensions: The age pension will be indexed to the consumer price index from 2017, rather than to wages, meaning it will rise by less than it would have. One estimate says it will be $80 less per week, a decade from now. For the next generation of pensioners, it will not kick in until age 70 from the year 2035 onwards.
• Other payments: The Seniors Supplement will be abolished, which was worth up to $876.20 per person per year and helped seniors “pay regular bills such as energy, rates, phone and motor vehicle registration”. Tax-free super will also be included in the assets test for the Seniors Health Care Card, making some FiftyUps ineligible for health concessions.
• Health Care Costs: All Australians will pay an extra $7 per visit to the doctor, pathologist or X-ray centre, and an extra $5 per prescription (or 80c if you have a Health Care Card) – which will affect older Australians. 1 in 3 FiftyUps surveyed said they would visit the doctor less as a result, which will save the Government money but could be bad news for some people’s health.
• Fuel Prices Up: Petrol excise will be “unfrozen”, rising twice a year with inflation, which will cause petrol prices to rise by about an extra 1c each year and affect all Australians as it flows through to the cost of goods generally.
• Other cuts: The Mature Age Worker Tax Offset has been cut in favour of a $10,000 incentive for businesses to hire older workers. And some over-60s have also lost the Dependent Spouse Tax Offset - a $2,500 tax offset for those who had a partner staying at home when they were working.

That’s the Bad News.

Click Here to read the Good Budget News for FiftyUps.

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