pension at 70, page-3

Retirement has never been compulsory anyway...probably the Public Service would be the leader in "pensioning" employees off by age 65. Though we see many Public Service employees pushing 70 now.

Pension payments as we know were initiated to assist war veterans as many did not have a career whereby they had been able to stash money away for retirement, as well as many veterans could not work anyway on return from war due to injuries both physical and psychological.

It has been pointed out that in 1930 at age 15 a male was expected to live until age 64. It wasn't expected that pensions would be a massive portion of the annual budget as it is now. A 15 year old male is expected to live until age 85 today. There are of course many females too in the equation and couples that draw pensions.

It is a very complex argument to increase the pension age. Employed blue collar workers may look forward to being able to retire at a specified age as many don't have the luxury of just deciding one day to retire.

But what really gets me about this, is that it was the Labor Government with bipartisan support from the Coalition that legislated the increasing in pension age a couple of years ago, due mainly to the increasing costs of servicing.

This week as Joe Hockey initiates further discussion on the very same issue due partly to reports from the IMF outlining the blow out to be expected in costs, Jenny (I can live on the dole) Macklin comes out firing that the Coalition is going to REDUCE the pension and the scare campaign from the left starts again!

People like Jenny (I can live on the dole) Macklin need to take a long hard look at themselves, (if indeed her reflection would fit into a mirror), and stop the stupid scare mongering and get on with assisting this government to reign in debt as they were elected to do.