Choose Your Own Adventure: Retirement Income Review lacks recommendations
Published 2 December 2020
What to make of a retirement income review that was touted as the mother of all retirement income reviews but then its final reports does not contain any recommendations?
Beyond ideology: rent subsidies inadequate
Published 2 December 2020
It is now beyond ideology that the Commonwealth Rent Assistance is so low that even doubling it would do little to help low-income renters out of poverty. What does help?
Out and About vouchers, are you going to miss out?
Published 25 November 2020
The NSW Budget promised one hundred dollars' worth of vouchers on your smart phone to spend at hospitality venues, but it seems the Minister for Customer Services has not yet worked out how to give these vouchers to people who haven't got a smart phone. [more]
Stamp duty or property tax, you choose
Published 25 November 2020
The NSW Treasurer thinks he has found a painless way of replacing stamp duty with a land tax. Here's how it works and a few pitfalls for pensioners.
NSW Budget 2020-21: the thumbs up and the thumbs down
Published 18 November 2020
The NSW COVID-19 Budget brings a lot less social housing to the state than needed, but there are some good things as well.
COVID-19: Smart phone confusion
Published 18 November 2020
The NSW Customer Services Minister put out a media release on QR codes which said that effectively smart phones would be mandatory if you wanted to go for a coffee somewhere. When that was reported, the media release changed!
Are you living in energy poverty?
Published 18 November 2020
The University of Technology is doing research on how Age Pensioners cope with energy costs and is asking age pensioners to make themselves available for interview.
Pensioners respond to the 2020-21 NSW Budget
Published 17 November 2020
The NSW COVID-19 Budget brings a lot less social housing to the state than needed, but there are some good things as well.
Pension indexation next time round: what will happen?
Published 11 November 2020
Will the pension go up in March next year or won't it? Difficult to say, but looking at inflation and cost-of-living numbers for the September 2020 quarter, it might.
IMF: Tax cuts for workers, hikes for pensioners
Published 11 November 2020
Would it be it right for the Australian Government to be fast tracking personal income and corporate tax cuts costing $50 billion while increasing GST and introducing land tax for all? Yes, says the International Monetary Fund.
Can you insure yourself against death?
Published 11 November 2020
Insurance is for unlikely or rare mishaps, and insurance companies make money because most people who insure themselves will never claim. [more]
Medical Cost Finder “put on ice”: COVID-19
Published 4 November 2020
COVID-19 is fast developing into the new the-dog-ate-my-homework excuse. Even the Department of Health's Medical Cost Finder website has succumbed to the a virus that is a procrastinator's dream.
NSW Regional Seniors Transport Card: What’s regional and what’s not?
Published 4 November 2020
The NSW Regional Seniors Transport Card is worth $250 a year but you have to live regionally. The NSW Government's approach compared with the Australian Bureau of Statics' approach to what constitutes 'regional' produces some interesting results. [more]
Aged care: when being a protected person means you can be evicted
Published 4 November 2020
Informal carers of people moving into a nursing home can keep living in their house as a "protected person", but just how protected is protected?
How aged care needs to change: It will be written
Published 28 October 2020
Counsel Assisting the Aged Care Royal Commission have made their final submissions, making a raft of recommendations that would bring aged care in Australia up to scratch if implemented. Full implementation rather than watered-down implementation will be the next battle-ground for aged care advocates. [more]
Government sticks with useless medical costs finder website
Published 21 October 2020
The Australian Government's Medical Costs Finder website is so conspicuously inadequate as a consumer information tool, you're left wondering if it's intentional. It is certain, though, that throwing another $17 million at it will not make it fit for purpose. [more]
Tax break to prevent elder abuse: granny flats
Published 21 October 2020
Granny flat arrangements can go horribly wrong and when they do, older people can be literally left homeless. [more]
Are you eating right?
Published 21 October 2020
Malnutrition is slow killer of older people inside and outside nursing homes. It's a good idea to make sure your diet keeps you as healthy and fit as possible.
JobSeeker or pre-Age Pension?
Published 14 October 2020
The longer a person is unemployed, the more difficult it becomes for them to find a suitable job, or even an unsuitable one. Social security arrangements acknowledge this on the one hand, but on the other compel people to keep looking when it is clear they're not going to find anything. [more]
Cutting a path through the comparator website jungle
Published 14 October 2020
Comparator websites allow consumers to find the best deals on a range of goods and services, but sometimes they don't. How do you find out if you're being misled?
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