Campaign 2004: Policies for 'mature' Australians
Today's policies recognise that the vast majority of older Australians are not in decline but healthy, active and engaged. If Coalition and ALP policies have not yet fully understood that older Australians should be considered a national resource rather than a national problem, signs are that recognition will arrive eventually.
There are two aspects to the major parties' current policies for and about 'mature' Australians: making work more attractive and possible; revising superannuation.
Labor has pledged a $212 million package to assist older workers, especially those who lose their jobs and are unable to find new ones. The focus includes skills and IT training, specialised job counsellors, TAFE, adult literacy and in-work training programs.
The Coalition will introduce a mature-aged workers tax offset to reward and encourage mature-aged workers to stay in the workforce. The tax break would allow people over the age of 55 to claim a maximum annual rebate of $500 on their earned income and would take effect this financial year. The measure will be targeted to low and middle income earners.
The superannuation policies of the two parties also aim to encourage older workers to stay working by enabling them to make a gradual transition to full retirement by working part-time without being penalised financially.
Earlier this year the Treasurer promised to allow workers access to their superannuation once they reached 55 without having to retire. The Coalition has also floated the idea of a scheme to pay higher 'pensions' to those people who continue to work beyond 'retirement age'. The details of how these proposals would work are not yet available.
In the Budget the Treasurer announced incentives to encourage more saving for retirement. For each dollar of income, the Government will match a person's superannuation contribution by 150 per cent up to $28,000 to phase out completely at $58,000. The superannuation surcharge is also to be reduced.
Labor has focused its superannuation policies on protecting superannuation savings; limiting exit and entry fees; consolidating accounts; and reducing the contributions tax from 15 per cent to 13 per cent. At Labor's policy launch Mark Latham set out the clear retirement goal of '65 at 65' - that is, retired Australians receiving 65 per cent of the gross income they had at age 65 during their years of full retirement.
The Greens' policy principles on Work and Employment simply refer to "equal access to paid work, depending on ability and irrespective of gender, age, ethnicity or religion" and their goals include "redressing discrimination and inequality across the spectrum of work". Similarly, the Democrats have not announced policies in this election specifically for or about 'mature' Australians.
The following links will take you to:
Labor's superannuation policy
Superannuation in the Government's budget
Coalition mature age worker offset tax
Labor's mature age workers policy
The Greens' policies
The Democrats' election issues