CAMPAIGN LAUNCH: Fair Go for FiftyUps
So why are we asking you to contribute ideas to a campaign called Fair Go for the FiftyUps which is designed to discover more about how the cost of living effects you?
Can politicians in Canberra, who make key decisions around issues which impact your spending life such as super, pensions, health care, utility bills etc, really do much?
And aren’t we told to stop complaining because we’re meant to be better off than other age cohorts, and don’t the statistics signify cost of living pressures are actually easing?
Sorry to start with such questions but the essential idea of the campaign to invite you to answer some for yourself because we believe the voice of 1 in 3 Australians is valid.
You represent half of all domestic buying power. You count but many policies about low interest rates, pension eligibility and taxes on super have hit older Aussies harder than others.
So consider taking a few minutes to fill in the survey. It’s not hard or intrusive and may end up helping you and others make your dollar go further.
We will present your answers, and just as importantly your comments and suggestions, to the pollies who always claim to be working in our best interests.
But it doesn’t hurt reminding them of what those actually are. Remember over-50s spend more on essential items than under-35s and are especially exposed. Almost twice as much on health care and one and half times as much on fuel and power.
The political establishment can’t always control prices, such as petrol which is set internationally, but it can intervene to drive competition, transparency and regulations which benefit consumers.
Certainly history, if not always age, has treated some FiftyUps well. Assets such as homes have rapidly appreciated in price. But it’s not rare to be asset-rich but cash-poor which limits your room for movement.
Changes to pension eligibility rules mean 325,000 older Australians will lose some or all of their pension. This tied in with increases to the cost of living and longevity this week led the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) to warn we need to save even more for retirement.
They now estimate we’ll need a super balance at retirement of $640,000 for a couple and $545,000 for a single, (at least it shows the savings to living in pairs), which is an increase of $130,000 and $115,000 respectively from previous estimates.
And for those who say prices are now more stable the AFSA research found petrol was up 12% in the last quarter and medical and hospital services, which older people rely on more, were up 4.5%
Certainly some costs have dropped but despite what the statistics might say poll after poll shows that we are very sensitive to price rises especially when they feature large and infrequent changes such as electricity.
We know from our earlier and less comprehensive poll that 52% of you who responded turned off the heater and went cold to avoid punishing power bills this winter.
The Fair Go for Fifty Ups aims to find out what is really happening and how households around the country are handling the cost of living.
We want your ideas of what’s got to change in terms of policy, principles and pricing and we’ll take them to those who can hopefully deliver reforms which consider the over-fifties.
We are not asking for a special case. We are not saying the FiftyUps won’t face some change too.But we are saying one on three Australians deserve at the very least more of a a fair go.
