Pensioners to receive rise

Almost 21,000 pensioners in Chifley will receive a rise in their pension and other income support from September 2010 due to indexation.

The new Federal Member for Chifley, Ed Husic said that the rise was the direct result of structural reforms made to the pension last year by the previous Labor Government.

“Pensioners are getting a better deal as a result of the changes to indexation which came in last year,” said Mr Ed Husic. “The Government compares three indices and applies the highest index to the pension increase,” Mr Husic added.

Pension payments will increase by $15.00 per fortnight for singles on the maximum rate, and $22.60 per fortnight for couples combined on the maximum rate.

Following these increases, total pension payments for those on the maximum rate, including the base rate and pension supplement, will be:

$716.10 per fortnight for singles
• $1079.60 per fortnight for couples combined

The September pension rise was due to an increase in the Pensioner and Beneficiary Living Cost Index (PBLCI) in the six months to June 2010.

Pensions are indexed twice a year to the highest increase of three measures: the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the PBLCI, and growth in Male Total Average Weekly Earnings (MTAWE).

The PBLCI was introduced as an additional indexation mechanism as part of the 2009 pension reforms, and takes into account a basket of goods pensioners buy to better help maintain pensioners’ purchasing power.

People eligible for the Age Pension, Disability Support Pension (adult rate), Carer Payment, veteran income support payments, Wife Pension, Widow B Pension and Bereavement Allowance will all benefit from the increases.

Parenting Payment and Rent Assistance have also increased on 20 September.

Adult rates of allowances, such as Newstart, and supplementary payments are also indexed on 20 September each year to the CPI increase for the previous six months. Allowance rates for single people (21 or over, without children) will increase by $6.90 per fortnight. – ?

Updated: 2010-10-09 — 21:35:36