{"id":102174,"date":"2025-03-06T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-06T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/?p=102174"},"modified":"2025-03-06T15:55:42","modified_gmt":"2025-03-06T04:55:42","slug":"millions-of-australians-set-for-a-pension-boost-heres-how-much-youll-get-from-march-20","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/millions-of-australians-set-for-a-pension-boost-heres-how-much-youll-get-from-march-20\/","title":{"rendered":"Millions of Australians Set for a Pension Boost \u2013 Here\u2019s How Much You\u2019ll Get from March 20"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The <strong>Age Pension<\/strong> is set for its biannual adjustment on <strong>March 20<\/strong>, offering a modest boost to payments for millions of Australian retirees. While any increase is welcome, many pensioners and advocacy groups argue that the rise falls short of what\u2019s needed to keep up with the rising cost of living.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With official figures expected in early March, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/nationalseniors.com.au\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">National Seniors Australia<\/a> (NSA)<\/strong> has estimated that the maximum<strong> fortnightly pension<\/strong> could reach <strong>$1,148.10 for singles<\/strong> and <strong>$1,732.20 for couples combined<\/strong>\u2014a small increase of <strong>$3.70 and $7<\/strong>, respectively. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Compared to the September 2024 hike of <strong>$28.10 for singles and $42.40 for couples<\/strong>, this adjustment reflects a<a href=\"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/australia-inflation-rate-drops-rba-rate-cut\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> slowing inflation rate<\/a>. But for those struggling with everyday expenses, the real question is: Is it enough?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How the Age Pension Increase Is Calculated<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Australian government adjusts <strong>pension payments<\/strong> twice a year\u2014March and September\u2014to help retirees keep pace with economic changes. The increase is based on the <strong>higher<\/strong> of two key inflation measures:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <strong>Consumer Price Index (CPI)<\/strong>, which tracks the cost of goods and services.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong>Pensioner and Beneficiary Living Cost Index (PBLCI)<\/strong>, which measures cost changes specifically for pensioners.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If the resulting figure is still <strong>too low <\/strong>compared to average wages, an additional adjustment is made to ensure pensioners don\u2019t fall too far behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While this system helps <strong>protect retirees from inflation<\/strong>, NSA and other advocacy groups argue that it doesn\u2019t fully reflect the true cost of living for <strong>older Australians<\/strong>\u2014especially when housing, healthcare, and energy bills continue to climb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why the Pension Increase Might Feel Underwhelming<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite the latest adjustment, many pensioners feel the Age Pension<strong> isn\u2019t keeping up<\/strong> with real-life expenses. NSA\u2019s research found that older Australians believe they need at least <strong>$10,000 <\/strong>more per year for<strong> singles<\/strong> and <strong>$15,000 for couples<\/strong> to cover basic costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To address this, NSA is calling for a <strong>one-off boost<\/strong> of <strong>$10 per day <\/strong>for singles and <strong>$15 per day <\/strong>for couples. This would mean an <strong>extra $3,650 <\/strong>per year for singles and <strong>$5,475 <\/strong>for couples\u2014a far cry from the current increase of just a few dollars per fortnight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Bigger Issues Pensioners Face<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Beyond pension increases, NSA and other advocacy groups are pushing for <strong>policy changes<\/strong> to improve financial security for retirees. Some key recommendations include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Freezing <strong>deeming rates<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Deeming rates determine how much income pensioners are assumed to earn from their savings. With interest rates still high, NSA suggests <strong>freezing deeming rates<\/strong> to prevent pensioners from losing benefits based on unrealistic income assumptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Encouraging retirees to work<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Many pensioners want to work part-time but <strong>face penalties<\/strong> if they earn too much. NSA suggests <strong>exempting employment income<\/strong> from the pension income test, allowing retirees to stay in the workforce without fear of losing benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Addressing the <strong>housing crisis<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Exempting proceeds from home sales from the Age Pension means test (for those over 80 receiving home care).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Removing disincentives for renting out rooms, such as pension reductions or capital gains tax impacts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. Raising <strong>gifting limits<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Pensioners face strict limits on how much they can <strong>gift<\/strong> to family or charity before it affects their benefits. NSA suggests increasing the limit to <strong>$17,500 for singles<\/strong> and <strong>$26,500 for couples<\/strong>, with future increases indexed to inflation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Millions of Australian pensioners are set to receive a boost in their payments this March, but the increase is smaller than many expected. Advocacy groups argue it\u2019s not enough to keep up with rising costs, pushing for urgent changes. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":101168,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-retirement","category-social-welfare","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102174"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102174\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":102182,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102174\/revisions\/102182"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}