If you're a pensioner and planning to spend more than six weeks with family overseas, you might need to think again; the government wants to strip your payments. Pensioners and seniors continue to get kicked by this government because they're an easy target. Just because you're old shouldn't make you invisible.
Overseas pensioner travel cut; government votes to limit benefits if you travel 10 Comments Labor News • 8th February 2016 Elderly Australian pensioners planning to spend a few months with their offspring, or other family relatives abroad, or merely taking an extended overseas holiday will have to think again: the Liberals are cutting their pensions if they stay away “too long”. In a desperate move to save money, while keeping a 15 per cent GST on the table, the Turnbull government today voted to cut the pension for elderly Australians who travel overseas. Shadow families and payments minister Jenny Macklin, and shadow citizenship and multiculturalism minister Michelle Rowland said the Social Services Legislation Amendment (Budget Repair) Bill 2015 makes it harder for pensioners — especially migrant Australian citizen pensioners — to continue to receive their pension while they are overseas. “Pensioners will have their pension cut after just six weeks’ absence.” “Currently, pensioners can stay overseas for 26 weeks and receive their full pension,” Macklin said. “Following that time, the pension is reduced to a rate that depends on the number of years they have worked in Australia. “Under the Turnbull government’s changes, from 1 January 2017 pensioners will have their pension cut after just six weeks’ absence. “Malcolm Turnbull’s new pension cuts will particularly hurt thousands of migrant pensioners who often spend time overseas to visit family or friends. “They deserve the pension.” “There are many older Australians who left family or fled conflict on the other side of the world who migrated to Australia to build a better life in our country. “They have spent decades working hard, paying taxes, raising families and making Australia a better place. “They deserve the pension, just like any other eligible older Australian,” she said. Labor did not support the legislation in the House of Representatives and will vote against it in the Senate. “This is a cruel and unfair cut,” Rowland said. “It is not unreasonable for someone to wish to spend some time overseas visiting family, particularly if that person has spent decades living and working in Australia.
I think this whole thing started with the idea of trying to prevent a cash outflow of taxpayer money. It makes sense and in some ways could be agreed on such as stopping payments considered in a way welfare payments or on the dole. Things like SSI and SSDI in the US that were abused in ways same as other western countries. I think they saw success and it grew from stopping taxpayer money to other countries to stopping anything they could get their hands on like pensions, SS, and so forth and the socialists in our countries are pushing that now often secretly. They also know those old guys won't be around much longer and those overseas often don't vote and when they do often their votes are actually never counted and just dismissed and shredded. As long as they keep giving to the young clueless they will have their indebted voters.
