Age and veteran pensioners get $4,000 boost

Age and veterans pensioners will soon be able to work more without it affecting their Centrelink payments.

It comes after amendments were moved in the House of Representatives this week which will extend the $4000 boost through to December 31st next year — an extra six months on top of what was originally planned.

The Albanese Government introduced legislation to credit $4000 to age pensioners from December 1st this year following the Jobs and Skills Summit.

The temporary top up will increase the amount pensioners can earn from $7800 to $11,800 before their pension is impacted.

It means pensioners can work in short stints or over the course of the year to help address labour shortages.

A six-month extension was agreed to so there would be enough time to assess the effectiveness of the policy.

It will come at a cost of about $2.5 million.

Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth said it was important pensioners had the choice to work.

“We’ve listened and we’re now seeking to extend the measure for 12 months to ensure people have time to use it,” she said in a statement this week.

“Our measure provides certainty – pensioners know exactly what they are getting upfront and how much they can earn.”

Mature aged traineeships ‘vital’ for aged care industry National Seniors Australia’s Ian Henschke says mature aged traineeships are vital as many aged care workers are “over 50”.

“The government needs to put in mature age traineeships, which I think are vital,” Henschke told Sky News Australia.

“You have to have traineeships, you have to select the right people, you’ve got to encourage them to stay in the industry, you’ve got to respect them for the work they do, and you have to let the pensioners work.”