Use pensioners to fix Aussie labour shortages

National Seniors Australia (NSA) is running a campaign calling on the federal government to allow pensioners to work more hours without losing the aged pension in order to ease their cost-of-living pressures and alleviate labour shortages across the economy:

Key Points:

• Only 14.2% of Australians 65 and over are in the workforce compared to 24.7% in New Zealand.
• The Age Pension income test punishes older Australians who need work.
• Government should exempt employment income from the income test for pensioners with limited means.

The issue:

According to the Department of Social Services, only 2.9% of pensioners (74,000 of the 2.6 million) receive income from employment. With key sectors, such as home care, hospitality, agriculture and tourism, struggling to attract and retain qualified staff, we need to tap Australia’s large resource of mature workers.