5 years ago
MORRISON GOVERNMENT "PROFITEERING" OFF PENSIONERS
LINDA BURNEY MP
Labor Senators will grill the Morrison Government over its “profiteering” off pensioners at Senate estimates today.
The Morrison Government has been gouging pensioners with unreasonably high pension loan interest rates.
The Age Pension Loans Scheme allows pensioners to top up their pension by borrowing money against the value of their property and then repaying the loan at the time of the administration of their estate.
The scheme currently charges pensioners an interest rate of 5.25 per cent.
Since the Government took office, the cash rate has fallen from 2.50 per cent to an all-time low of 0.75.
But the Government hasn’t changed the pension loan interest rate at all.
It is up to the Prime Minister and Treasurer to justify how they can continue to gouge pensioners by charging these unreasonably high pension loan interest rates.
The Morrison Government has displayed rank hypocrisy, accusing banks of “profiteering” by not passing on the cash rate cut, but doing the same to pensioners.
This comes as the Morrison Government refuses to adjust the age pension deeming rates with the upper deeming rate currently set at 3.00 per cent.
The Liberals are shortchanging pensioners and propping their budget on the back of pensioners.
The Liberals and Nationals history of cuts to the Age Pension
The Morrison Government has been gouging pensioners with unreasonably high pension loan interest rates.
The Age Pension Loans Scheme allows pensioners to top up their pension by borrowing money against the value of their property and then repaying the loan at the time of the administration of their estate.
The scheme currently charges pensioners an interest rate of 5.25 per cent.
Since the Government took office, the cash rate has fallen from 2.50 per cent to an all-time low of 0.75.
But the Government hasn’t changed the pension loan interest rate at all.
It is up to the Prime Minister and Treasurer to justify how they can continue to gouge pensioners by charging these unreasonably high pension loan interest rates.
The Morrison Government has displayed rank hypocrisy, accusing banks of “profiteering” by not passing on the cash rate cut, but doing the same to pensioners.
This comes as the Morrison Government refuses to adjust the age pension deeming rates with the upper deeming rate currently set at 3.00 per cent.
The Liberals are shortchanging pensioners and propping their budget on the back of pensioners.
The Liberals and Nationals history of cuts to the Age Pension
- In 2014, they tried to cut pension indexation – a cut that would have meant pensioners would be forced to live on $80 a week less within ten years.
- In 2014, they cut $1 billion from pensioner concessions – support designed to help pensioners with the cost of living.
- In 2014, they axed the $900 seniors supplement to self-funded retirees receiving the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card.
- In 2014, they tried to reset deeming rates thresholds – a cut that would have seen half a million part-pensioners made worse off.
- In 2015, they did a deal with the Greens to cut the pension to around 370,000 pensioners by as much as $12,000 a year by changing the pension assets test.
- In 2016, they tried to cut the pension to around 190,000 pensioners as part of a plan to limit overseas travel for pensioners to six weeks.
- In 2016, they tried to cut the pension for over 1.5 million Australians, by scrapping the energy supplement for new pensioners.
- The Government’s own figures show this would have left over 563,000 Australians who are currently receiving a pension or allowance worse-off. Over 10 years, in excess of 1.5 million pensioners would be worse off.
- They spent five years trying to increase the pension age to 70.
- They now have another bill before the parliament to cut the pension to migrant pensioners, cutting the pension supplement for pensioners who travel overseas for more than six weeks as well as increasing the residential requirement from ten to 15 years.