Are retirees ‘cheating’ the system?
Older Australians have slammed claims that retirees are ‘hiding cash under their mattresses’ in order to receive a pension. According to a Fairfax press report this week, a former Reserve Bank employee says retirees are making regular large note withdrawals and holding up to $50,000 in cash.
Older Australians have slammed claims that retirees are ‘hiding cash under their mattresses’ in order to receive a pension.
According to a Fairfax press report this week, a former Reserve Bank employee says retirees are making regular large note withdrawals and holding up to $50,000 in cash to access the means tested Age Pension.
However, National Seniors chief executive, Michael O’Neill, states: “Claims that pensioners who put away a little cash for a rainy day are cheating the system are highly offensive.
“Where is the evidence?” Mr O’Neill asked. “There could be several reasons why retirees keep cash at hand,” he says.
“Perhaps they don’t understand, or trust, technologies such as BPAY, EFTPOS or automatic payments. Perhaps it’s a cultural thing and they just prefer to hand over money in their daily dealings.
“Or perhaps it reflects the values of a stoic generation that feels some sense of security in knowing they have a little something tucked away for an emergency.
“Let’s see the numbers and how they stack up against the wider cash economy.”
Mr O’Neill adds that to “single out and demonise” elderly Australians without evidence – or an understanding of their motivations – is unfair.
The “demonising” of elderly Australians arose when a former senior Reserve Bank official, Peter Mair, wrote to the governor of the bank suggesting the older population were behind the “extraordinarily high number of $100 notes in circulation”.
Bank figures show there are 10 $100 notes in circulation for each Australian compared to only seven $20 notes.
Mr Mair says the government should consider removing $50 and $100 notes from circulation to make hoarding more difficult.
Finance Minister, Penny Wong, warns pensioners to properly declare their incomes. In the six months to December, only 44 people aged over 60 were convicted of social security fraud out of a total of 826.
