New campaign for pensioners facing poverty

The call for a targeted Pensioner Concession Card+ (PCC+) follows National Seniors research showing low-income pensioners, especially women, are more likely to be severely impacted by rising living costs and more likely to miss out on essential health care.

“The Age Pension is below what a person needs to cover necessities. It’s particularly dire if you’re a woman, single, and rent,” Chief Advocate Ian Henschke said.

“We know 20% of older women have no superannuation and older women are the fastest growing cohort at risk of homelessness.

“As OECD data shows, income poverty for people aged 66 and older in Australia is 21% for men and 26.2% for women – a startling difference.”

Mr Henschke said despite many older Australians living in poverty, there isn’t any simple way for governments to deliver targeted concessions to these people.