Retirement

[Trevor 57]

Originally Posted by Tassie f100

If you are in a position to get a minimum pension.even just a couple of dollars a fortnight the discounts on services like power water.rates rego etc is worth a lot of dollars.Plus health care,prescriptions etc

I can't access the Pension system until I am 67, not quite there yet

[hackney]

Originally Posted by Trevor 57

I can't access the Pension system until I am 67, not quite there yet

It was 66 for me.

[Trevor 57]

Yep Kevin '07 changed that for me. I am one the first to be impacted by the 67 access to the age pension

[Charliewool]

Originally Posted by Tassie f100

If you are in a position to get a minimum pension.even just a couple of dollars a fortnight the discounts on services like power water.rates rego etc is worth a lot of dollars.Plus health care,prescriptions etc

As someone that’s only just finished jumping through all the hoops for this “luxury”, I’d suggest that if you’ve worked and paid tax all your life in Australia, the age pension AND more so the benefits that come with it, should be AUTOMATIC at your retirement age?
The way it’s presently structured and means tested gives absolutely NO incentive to have lived frugally and saved for your retirement!
Another rant.. How many from other countries that immigrated here in the 60’s are receiving 2 pensions?
Australia has a despicable habit of not looking after their OWN elderly!

[Charliewool]

Originally Posted by hackney

It was 66 for me.

66 and 6 months for me (last week actually)

[GO FURTHER]

Originally Posted by Trevor 57

Yep Kevin '07 changed that for me. I am one the first to be impacted by the 67 access to the age pension

Me too... Born in 59

[Tassie f100]

Originally Posted by hackney

I took my full PSS pension, it also had a lump some attached which I took.The PSS is indexed twice a year.Government pension went slightly down though.Doing very nicely thank you!

The “normal”pension I reckon is plenty for a couple to live fairly easily on.Think anyone who is on the Govt gravy train gets a fair bit more courtesy of the taxpayer

[Trevor 57]

Originally Posted by GO FURTHER

Me too... Born in 59

Yep, if you were born from January 1 1957 it is 67 before you can access the Age Pension

[Tassie f100]

Originally Posted by Trevor 57

Yep, if you were born from January 1 1957 it is 67 before you can access the Age Pension

My wife was Aug 55 and had to wait til 66 1/2 to get it

[Trevor 57]

We have a couple of friends (couples) who both have no debt (own everything) and they say around $25 to $45k per year is what you need (don't listen to the Super funds), accessing the Age (part) Pension is a big help. One couple just got back from a 4 week trip to Europe

[Tassie f100]

Originally Posted by Charliewool

As someone that’s only just finished jumping through all the hoops for this “luxury”, I’d suggest that if you’ve worked and paid tax all your life in Australia, the age pension AND more so the benefits that come with it, should be AUTOMATIC at your retirement age?
The way it’s presently structured and means tested gives absolutely NO incentive to have lived frugally and saved for your retirement!
Another rant.. How many from other countries that immigrated here in the 60’s are receiving 2 pensions?
Australia has a despicable habit of not looking after their OWN elderly!

You are so right.If you save and have contributed to a super fund you are on your own.If you spent every dollar when you got it you get a full pension and all the benefits.And if you couldn’t get a home of your own then the Govt gives you even more in the form of rent assistance.Makes me wonder why I even started full time work nearly 60 years ago,should have gone straight from school to the dole office

[Trevor 57]

Originally Posted by Tassie f100

My wife was Aug 55 and had to wait til 66 1/2 to get it

I did know there was a sliding scale, but I was born a little after January 1 1957

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by T3rminator

Me old boss received a massive inheritance from his late father, and retired early. I'm talking about the type of inheritance where the next couple of generations don't have to work. He lasted 6 months in retirement, and decided to come back to work. Said he needed a "purpose", and got sick of golf .

There is no rule book to say you have to retire when you have enough $$$, but it must be a bloody good feeling to know you don't have to work if you don't want to.

I guess I've been lucky for the last 30 years in my present job, I always have 1 or 2 days attached to the weekends where I don't work at all. Guess you can say I've been semi-retired in a sense with full time pay, now you know why I'm not in a hurry to retire.

You actually hit it on the head by having a meaningful purpose, I easily get bored with myself even though I have numerous hobbies, I guess I like the challenges from my job and the great rapport of co-workers I associate with.
As stated, decisions ... decisions, this will be my 51st year of working and I can officially retire. Decisions.....decisions as to what to do.

[Trevor 57]

Originally Posted by Tassie f100

You are so right.If you save and have contributed to a super fund you are on your own.If you spent every dollar when you got it you get a full pension and all the benefits.And if you couldn’t get a home of your own then the Govt gives you even more in the form of rent assistance.Makes me wonder why I even started full time work nearly 60 years ago,should have gone straight from school to the dole office

could you have lived with yourself if you did that, serious answer now

[Trevor 57]

Originally Posted by Itsme

I guess I've been lucky for the last 30 years in my present job, I always have 1 or 2 days attached to the weekends where I don't work at all. Guess you can say I've been semi-retired in a sense with full time pay, now you know why I'm not in a hurry to retire.

You actually hit it on the head by having a meaningful purpose, I easily get bored with myself even though I have numerous hobbies, I guess I like the challenges from my job and the great rapport of co-workers I associate with.
As stated, decisions ... decisions, this will be my 51st year of working and I can officially retire. Decisions.....decisions as to what to do.

I worked full time from home during COVID and then last year when I wasn't required face to face for anything I worked at home as well, so the tie to co-workers is almost non-existent. There is a couple I keep in close contact with, through a mutual car club, but that is it

I started my 51st year last November, I got 'asked' to leave school in November 1972

[Tassie f100]

Originally Posted by Trevor 57

could you have lived with yourself if you did that, serious answer now

NO.but I have known a few who at the age of 60 or more are yet to start their working life.I still actively try to find small pocket money jobs.Surprising how many 1/2 day jobs that are out there

[Trevor 57]

Originally Posted by Tassie f100

NO.but I have known a few who at the age of 60 or more are yet to start their working life.

Yeah I know and it sucks, if they have a genuine reason (disability etc) then fair enough, but if they are just living off the Gvmt teat coz they can, it sucks. But even though they are a significant drain on our taxes would we have it any other way - Get no Gvmt money, armed robberies and house robberies go up (like the USA)

I post on an American forum, very right wing, and they couldn't give a shyte about the under-privileged, stuff 'em they reckon "I did it, they should too" is the general response

I would rather live here where we are more generous to those who can't help themselves, unfortunately there are a few dodgy rats in that, but . . . . . (robberies)

[LG17]

I'm 73 and still can't get the pension!
The super complicated rules suck!!!

[Trevor 57]

Too much assets and money in the bank LG

Not even part?

[MrEL]

I sit back and look at the angry , miserable person my old man has turned into since he has retired and honestly ill be happy to drop dead with my head inside a generator at work one day.
No plans on me retiring until I get kicked out the door.

[Trevor 57]

You get old and tired, you get grumpy when your body doesn't do what you head wants it to

years of physical abuse from all the labour intensive jobs, plus a few reckless hobbies (like motorbike riding in the bush) will slow you down in older age

Both my shoulders have had surgery to make them not hurt so much, I am 50% deaf in one ear and 25% in the other (only in certain ranges), knees are dodgy (3 surgeries on them) and I can put it all down to driving trucks with a little bit of bike riding in the bush

Shoulders are shot from driving milk tankers picking up milk from farms and swinging the heavy pick up hoses onto the sides of tankers, maybe a bit of unloading 67kg (yes 150lb) bags of flour by hand from the back of pantech semi's didn't help. The deafness is from listening to diesel and petrol driven milk pumps confined in a stainless steel compartment on the back of milk tankers (all in the days before workplace OHS was invented) and driving with the truck window down as no air con. Knees are knackered from jumping out of trucks, back then not much was provided for easy access and egress to and from trucks

Don't be too hard on your dear old dad

[GO FURTHER]

Originally Posted by Trevor 57

We have a couple of friends (couples) who both have no debt (own everything) and they say around $25 to $45k per year is what you need (don't listen to the Super funds), accessing the Age (part) Pension is a big help. One couple just got back from a 4 week trip to Europe

The one piece of advice I gave all my kids was no matter what they do in their life, the one thing they must try to achieve is to own the roof above their heads outright and be totally debt free when they reach retirement age.

If you don't achieve a sufficient self-funded nest egg and have to rely solely on the pension, you will be able to live comfortably at least.

It's those people who are on the pension who are still renting or paying off their mortgage, debts, cars, credit cards, etc... That find it difficult on the government pension.

The current couple (living together) full pension is $40,238 p.a. indexed.

If you can't live on that (being debt free) and have no kids to support, then there is something wrong IMO.

[.:4:.]

Originally Posted by Trevor 57

You get old and tired, you get grumpy when your body doesn't do what you head wants it to

years of physical abuse from all the labour intensive jobs, plus a few reckless hobbies (like motorbike riding in the bush) will slow you down in older age

Thats not entirely true. Yeah, some people retire with a hobby or such, get bored of that then get grumpy and pass. Majority of my grandpas good mates retired at 60 like my grandpa did (so in the 80s), and most his mates didnt make it to 70. My grandpa loved gardening, woodwork and mainly poetry. Both he and my grandma are still kicking. Grandma is 96, grandpa is 97. Both are very frail, grandpa still enjoys writing poetry, grandma still has a love of literature. So thats my mums parents.
My dad, he was in a financial position to retire at 50. So 2004. Got his golf handicap down to 8, divorced my mum, got bored of golf and had nothing else to do. He passed in 2019 aged 65 due to medical issues attributed to poor lifestyle choices. To be fair what is a better way to start a booring day then beers for breakfast?

[kevino]

I semi retired 2021. We came over from Nz so have under average super balance.
I get a govco pension from Nz and Aus about half half. But the amount I get as a total is controlled by Centrelink. Wife works and if she gets back pay holiday pay etc my pension might get zeroed. I never know what to expect as Centrelink told Nz to cut me back by 80 per cent two days before Xmas. Then on the 3 Jan Centrelink dropped 962$ in my ac with the notion Nz arrears. Go figure. Haven’t touched it assume it’s a balls up.
Then three weeks into January Nz put their bit up to what it was previously.
It’s about $210 a week at the moment total from the two govts.
I do a bit of gig delivery work net about $150 a week. And pull $220 fortnight as a pension from my super fund.
I also do two days a week volunteer driving for free note I can take breaks whenever I like from this.

My wife gets super ****ed when my pensions get cut or zero
Being kiwis we know in Nz you get full
Pension at 65 no income test no asset test.


I just live with the Aus system. By the way $419000 of assets out side your family home is the number that Clink start reducing your pension.

[Trevor 57]

Originally Posted by .:4:.

Thats not entirely true. Yeah, some people retire with a hobby or such, get bored of that then get grumpy and pass. Majority of my grandpas good mates retired at 60 like my grandpa did (so in the 80s), and most his mates didnt make it to 70. My grandpa loved gardening, woodwork and mainly poetry. Both he and my grandma are still kicking. Grandma is 96, grandpa is 97. Both are very frail, grandpa still enjoys writing poetry, grandma still has a love of literature. So thats my mums parents.
My dad, he was in a financial position to retire at 50. So 2004. Got his golf handicap down to 8, divorced my mum, got bored of golf and had nothing else to do. He passed in 2019 aged 65 due to medical issues attributed to poor lifestyle choices. To be fair what is a better way to start a booring day then beers for breakfast?

grog and smoking on my mums side (she was born in 1926 and the 2nd eldest of 10) is a sure way to an early grave, up until her 2 youngest siblings got there my mum lived the longest of the 7 that had died, she died at 67

[Charliewool]

Originally Posted by Tassie f100

My wife was Aug 55 and had to wait til 66 1/2 to get it

From Mygov website..
“On 1 July 2021, Age Pension age increased to 66 years and 6 months for people born from 1 July 1955 to 31 December 1956, inclusive.
If your birthdate is on or after 1 January 1957, you’ll have to wait until you turn 67. This will be the Age Pension age from 1 July 2023.”

If they continue moving the goalposts, you’ll soon need to be 80 to be eligible!

[Trevor 57]

and there it is, thanks Kevin '07 lol

[Charliewool]

Another little titbit that I discovered the hard way is…
To apply, you MUST be IN Australia.. AND once approved, you need to fully reside IN Australia for the next 2 years..
Kiwis, don’t worry.. You guys are next, not only for the above, but also the assets and income test..

[Trevor 57]

the money has to come from somewhere, there is no money tree and I think a fair a reasonable means test is OK, people who don't need it shouldn't get it

[kevino]

That’s a fair proposition.
It’s a bit unfair that the Uber rich in Nz get it no questions asked especially if it’s funded by a national deficit ie borrowed money.
I do think the Aus system could be simplified a bit - it’s wierd to know that beaureaucrats trawl over our financials.