A leading seniors advocate has warned changes to the way the government calculates pensions from Sunday could deal a blow to some Border retirees.
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The assets threshold for a couple who owns a house to claim a part pension will be lowered from $1.2 million to $816,000, and the threshold for single homeowners will drop from $794,000 to $542,000.
Albury-based Association of Independent Retirees spokesman Ken Curnow told The Border Mail some retirees would now have to draw down on their assets or settle for a lower standard of living.
“What this boils down to is those on the borderline getting some sort of pension arrangement have lost it,” he said.
“Anybody who’s in their late 60s to mid 70s has another 20 years in them, and some may have to draw on their assets when they’ve spent a lifetime trying to build up something which will give them a reasonable retirement and lifestyle.”
But there’s benefits for those with less money tied up in assets on the Border.
Single homeowners will be able to get a full pension who have $250,000 in assets, up from $209,000 under the previous test.
For single non-homeowners, the threshold is $450,000.
And a couple who own a house will be able to receive a full pension if they have $375,000 worth of assets, up from $297,000.
The threshold is $575,000 for non-homeowner couples.
The so-called taper rate will also double, which determines how much of the fortnightly pension payment is lost for those above the minimum threshold.
From the start of 2017, a pensioner will lose $3 for each extra $1000 they have in assets above the threshold.
The reforms were first outlined in former Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s 2015 budget, with an aim to save the budget $2.4 billion between 2015-19.
A political stoush erupted in the lead-up to the changes this month, with Labor claiming 330,000 pensioners would be worse off under the changes.
But Senator Scott Ryan dismissed this, and said 90 per cent of those getting the pension would see no change or an improvement, while the poorer would benefit the most.
"170,000 of our most vulnerable pensioners see an increase to the support they receive and we are redirecting support in a limited resource," he said.
Mr Curnow said if Border seniors had to draw down on their assets to maintain their lifestyle it could eventually lead them to being eligible for a pension once again.
He said tourism industries which rely on older travellers could also be negatively affected as seniors tightened their belts.
