Age pensioners can expect a slightly higher Age Pension payment when the indexation is announced next month.
The Age Pension is calculated twice a year on 20 March and 20 September.
The increase is calculated using whichever is higher of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or the Pensioner and Beneficiary Living Cost Index (PBLCI). The PBLCI is an index for people who are on government payments and it uses a slightly different ‘basket’ of goods than the CPI.
For example, the PBLCI places less emphasis on the cost of education as it assumes older people aren’t spending as much on paying for schooling.
Since the last indexation in March, the CPI has risen by 2 per cent and the PBLCI by 2.6 per cent, so the Age Pension should increase by 2.6 per cent.
This is slightly better than the March 2024 indexation of 1.8 per cent, which reflects a higher cost of living. This should mean an extra $28.10 a fortnight for singles and $42.40 for couples.
It should be noted these figures are estimates, although there should be no dramatic variations.
CPI increases
This June 2024 quarter CPI increase is the first in annual CPI inflation since the December 2022 quarter.
The maximum asset and income threshold levels for the Age Pension are also indexed at the same time, so if you are on a part Age Pension, or have not previously qualified because of your assets or income, it may be worth checking the new cut-off points when they come out. The new thresholds may push you over the edge to qualify or increase your payments.
While the Age Pension will be indexed on 20 September, the full payment won’t be in your bank account until October.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) compiles five different living cost indexes (LCI) and all five rose over the June 2024 quarter.
“Insurance and financial services and food and non-alcoholic beverages were the main contributors to the quarterly rises across all LCIs. Housing was also a main contributor for all LCIs apart from self-funded retiree households,” the ABS reported.
It also said that people on government payments experienced a strong quarterly rise due to increasing rents and electricity prices.
Self-funded retirees
Self-funded retirees were not immune to the increases.
“Self-funded retiree households, whose primary source of income is superannuation or property income, rose 1.2 per cent this quarter, up from a 0.7 per cent rise in the March 2024 quarter,” the ABS stated.
“This was due to higher international holiday travel and accommodation prices this quarter due to an increase in demand for holiday travel to Europe. Holiday travel and accommodation makes up a higher proportion of expenditure for self-funded retiree households than it does for other types of households.
“Self-funded retiree households also have the largest proportion of expenditure for medical, dental and hospital services. Medical, dental and hospital services recorded a rise in the June 2024 quarter reflecting an increase in health insurance premiums on 1 April.”
Do you think the consumer indexes accurately reflect the cost of living? Why not share your thoughts in the comments section below?
Also read: Are you entitled to a Centrelink bereavement payment?
Absolutely not
Definitely not.
“How much will the Age Pension increase next month?”
By NOT ENOUGH !!!!
It will NEVER increase enough to help pensioners live a comfortable life.
For many, not even a basic survival life. Far different to what the Old-age Pension Act introduced in 1908.
What a joke. Health costs have increased over 8% in the last 18-months, basic food has gone up 12%, electricity went up over 15% (after the rebates were announced, but before they were paid), home maintenance costs went up 25% (rents for those unfortunate enough to be renting went up way more), insurance costs went up 30%, gas has gone up 33%, telecommunications have gone up 15% and water costs have gone up 8%. Oh yeah, Council Rates also went up, which makes a mockery of the cap on pensioner rates!
And as if this isn’t enough, the price of fruit and vegetables has gone through the roof, travel costs have increased by over 20% and inflation is running rampant.
Let’s not forget all Australian getting a tax cut became all Australians paying tax, but there was no change to Centrelink’s 50c tax on any dollar a pensioner earns and our wonderful politicians gave themselves a 30% increase due to cost of living.
They did give almost every other beneficiary an increase because according to the politicians, “we can’t expect people to survive on benefits that are suffering so badly in the current economy”.
And while interest rates on home loans went up, interest on our savings went nowhere, just like the last paltry pension increase went nowhere in compensating for cost increases under this government.
Pensioners looking at Aged Care and all of the other nasties being inflicted on them could be excused for thinking this is a strategy by the Albanese Government and their State mates to eliminate older retirees. Hey, the home freed up through mass elimination would put a big dent in the housing crisis.
It is up to we older Australians to hang in there and not give up. The pendulum will swing back and kick these uncaring politicians in the backside and hopefully off the continent all together.
Since Labor has been in, the lot of the pensioner has gone steadily backwards. It can’t be by accident. This is a deliberate plot by uncaring politicians who have demonstrated they want the little bit of remaining wealth hard working older Australians have put away.
Next they will introduce death tax to take what the next cohort has put aside for the following generations. They won’t be happy until everyone is either elite class or working class and poor. Seems like I learnt this model at school as an undesirable state, but the textbooks now spin it as utopia.
Australian retirees once had a reasonable living standard in retirement, but now live below the poverty line, unless they are very lucky.
Typing mistake: politicians gave themselves a 3.5% increase in salary and further indexing of allowances. I meant to type 3.0%, which was still excessive for the poor job they’re doing.
The independent Remuneration Tribunal (a Government Department) followed the decision by the Fair Work Commission (another Government Department) to lift the minimum wage by 3.75 per cent. The tribunal’s increased politicians pay last year by 4%. This means last year and this year combined are the two largest increases to politicians’ pay in a decade.
But pensioners will potentially get 2.6% compared to the minimum 3.75 paid to the minimum wage and much less than politicians get for screwing up the country. With inflation over the year to March sitting at 3.6 per cent, pensioners go backwards yet again. The last increase was an insult and this current one is a slap in the face.
All pensioners still have the vote: Vote these clowns who want to be rid of we pensioners, out. They’ve shown they don’t care about older Australians and we should show them we still matter. Otherwise the current inequities will continue until we see a decimation of older Australians.