Abbott to raise pension age to 70

It is astounding to me that a Government dedicated to removing a mining tax can justify raising the pension age to 70 to balance their budget.  I don’t have the figures on what would be saved by such a move, but common sense would suggest, that eliminating one source of income from a wealthy group and making cuts that affect a disadvantaged group, is not a fair distribution.

Raising the pension age to 70 has little or no merit either in terms of a budget or in terms of the economy.  There may be some merit in raising the compulsory retirement age to 70 for those in good health and who wish to continue working rather than live on the reduced income of a pension. But for those who have worked for many years in a labour intensive job, it is possible that their physical well being would not sustain a longer working life.  There are also those who may already be unemployed through no fault of their own who cannot find jobs because employers want younger cheaper employees.  These people will be forced to remain on an unemployment benefit giving no additional advantage to any budget. 

Mr. Abbott seems to view pensioners as a drain on the economy giving no acknowledgement of the contribution to this country made during a full working life and the raising of a family.  Many of those due to receive a pension in the near future would not have much in the way of superannuation as only some of the working population accessed superannuation benefits until it became a national policy in the late 80’s for all workers.  Working men and women in trades, manufacturing and retail industries were mostly on the lower end of the wage structure making saving for a retirement time difficult whilst raising a family.

Mr. Abbott appears to want to reward modern parents with his parenting scheme whilst ignoring and penalising a group of people who have raised families already and contributed greatly to this society.  Retired pensioners still contribute to their communities by assisting others, doing volunteer work or helping raise their grandchildren.  Pensioners have never been a drain on society and should be considered a much valued contributor to the economy through their lifetime dedication to their work, their community and their families.