It is strange that there are people who claim that they are entitled to an Australian Government pension because they paid taxes in earlier years, whereas being eligible to receive a pension is disconnected from any tax that one might have paid to the ATO. If one had paid above average tax, the chances are that one would have, like I have, accumulated assets that would preclude one from receiving the pension. In contrast, if one were a low-lifer who spent most of one's life incarcerated at a cost of about $100,000 a year, then after costing Australian society about $4 million during one's forty or so years in gaol, one would get a full pension, and probably other benefits like subsidised housing. It is a grossly unfair system.
I have two brothers who dropped out of working early – one to go on the dole so that had free time to do things like build a large house and muck around fixing his cars, the other to use up his superannuation so that there would be nothing left by the time he was eligible to go on the pension. Both are inclined to be rather generous with friends (suggesting they are not skint), and both brag how clever they are to live well at the expense of taxpayers. A third brother arrived in Australia when he was about sixty years old, and he works in a lowly paid position, and hence pays little tax, while his much younger, and well qualified, wife does not work, other than in a home-based business that makes a meagre profit. This couple will in time go on a Government Pension too, although their contributions to Australian society via the ATO would be very low.
The Australian Government Pension should be tied to the tax paid by the pensioners, so those who paid little or no tax should get very little, and those who contributed significantly to the state coffers should get more. Voting should be similarly weighted, so there is balance between what is decided, and who picks up the tab. That would be fair.
As an aside, I find keeping an eye on my SMSF and a personal share portfolio provides enough mental pabulum to keep me stimulated, so the urge to find some meaning in my twilight years has not been a problem. It's like playing an engaging game of Monopoly, but with real money. My proclivity to spend is low, so I would live just as well as I now do even if my income were reduced to the level of a state pension. To be happy, simply keep your expenditures below your income, and have fat in the system to handle the financial vicissitudes of life.
