No ‘purpose’ in pension age increase
Raising the pension age to 70 will “serve no social or economic purpose if people are forced into the unemployment queues”, Age Discrimination Commissioner, Susan Ryan, says.
Commissioner Ryan comments came in response to the Productivity Commission’s suggestion last Friday that the pension age should rise to 70.
“Setting a long term target of increasing the age pension age to 70 makes economic sense for Australia, but such a change should only be considered when we have eliminated age discrimination from the workplace,” Commissioner Ryan said.
“Right now, research suggests that about two million Australians over 55 years are willing to work, but cannot find employment – and many sources of research data establish that the main barrier these people face is age discrimination,” she said.
Commissioner Ryan said that too many employers are unwilling to hire people over 50 years while, at the same time, people in their 50s who are employed frequently find themselves being forced out.
Additionally, workers compensation and income insurance practices and policies work against people in their 60s being able to stay in paid work
“Individuals who are prevented from working before they even reach age pension age face huge problems,” Ms Ryan said. “They have to use up any savings they have or, if they don’t have savings, they are condemned to poverty, and increasingly, to homelessness.”
Commissioner Ryan said the resulting impact on public expenditure is heavy.
“All these pressures have discriminatory effects on older people, placing them at severe disadvantage – these features of our social, employment and support systems absolutely have to change, whether we raise the pension eligibility age or not,” she said.
She said modelling by Deloitte has estimated that an increase in participation in the paid workforce by those over 55, by just 3%, would add $33 billion per year to national income.
“I welcome the Productivity Commission’s study because it will necessarily focus decision makers on the real objective – to grant older Australians access to longer working lives so they can, without penalty, draw on the pension later.”
Commissioner Ryan said the real challenge is for governments, employers and the community to recognise the true capacities of older people who wish or need to work and eradicate age discrimination in the process.
