How will you go about doing this.................

Well ... what happend to Grey Power, who are supposed to represent the Aged population? What happend to the Minister for the Aged? What happned to the National Seniors who are supposed to be there to stand up for Seniors?



Hopefully these people will stand up soon, and demand action. Nothing the aged people or pensioners say makes a damned bit of difference. Unless you are a tax payer, you don't count.

I understand from reading the budget reports in out local paper this morning that .



The $ 500 bonus will be paid again to eligible Seniors before the end of June



The Utilities allowance of $ 125 per quarter will be paid again this year



That there is to be an increase in aged pensions although I do not have any specific information about the amount or how it will be calculated



IT seems to be a win for the aged when in reality the first two items that I have mentioned could have been scrapped



What else do the pensioners want ...........???

The senior bonus of $500 is pathetic considering the contribution they have made in the years before retirement. How far do you think $500 goes these days? In my opinion not very far, considering they are using it to catch up with costs they can't afford throughout the year, such as maintenance, car repairs etc.



The Utilities allowance would be great, if the bills (including the GST now) hadn't gone up more than that over a number of years they got next to nothing to assist them.



They always talk about indexing the pension. The only problem is, the indexation is never as high as inflation, food costs, petrol, general bills etc are.



I would like to point out to everyone who thinks that pensioners don't pay tax .... they do. The GST has ensured that EVERY member of society pays tax on every electricity, phone, gas, rates, water rates, grocery bill etc. They also pay tax on car repairs, home maintenance, clothing etc. While some people can recoup some of their tax at taxation time, most pensioners can't.



Please don't tell me they are being looked after, because they are not.

Pension... Pensioners... We have worked all our lives to receive "Peanuts" on this budget.



All I am saying here is if Ruddy cannot increase our pension, ok but , don't penalize our pension if we wich to work.



Look at New Zealand and now France.

Look at all the French Pensioners walked to parliament house and have given no other choices to the French President than giving the option to French pensioners either to retire in peace or continue to work without being penilized.. Should we all walk on a national Level and demand loudly to the government to do the same?

All Imagine if we were working even a few hours a week and still get our full pension? would it be nice?

I am not here to say that Pensioners get it easy with houshold expenses and costs of living



I have Pensioner friends who live within their means and they are happy and content ........they do own their own homes and acordingly do not pay rent but they do however pay rates and taxes .........They have a car and are comfortably well off ........so thay tell me



We all have our own way of living and if you find life difficult then I am sorry ..........

I have written to Mr. Rudd Several times, letting him know, that the pensionor and health care are two reasons I voted for him. I am a Age Care Worker, And know how hard it is for a lot of pensioners.

I think he is relying on most pensioners to take what they get, as most of them don’t want to make a fuss. I have read it on here, no one wants to march on him, in Canberra. So, how about bombarding him with E-mails of discontent,. Untill, we all get to be heard?

Concerned Nurse. Annie

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Hi Annie...........Very sensible commets and your sugestion may make a difference .........I see on the News a lot of Senior folk did a strip in Melbourne and they seemed also to be having fun .........We live in troubled times I am sorry to say.............Have a nice day

Ok clay and people like you if you think you can live on $270 a week I take my hat off to you and your pensioner friends are doing it tough or they have a little bit more coming in. The Pensioners in Melbourne demonstrated for all Australian Pensioners, and even though I would have preferred that they kept their clothes on, at least they got plenty of publicity. Now its time for Perth Pensioners to have a March or a sit-in to show we mean business too. After all they can pay foreign new comers nearly twice as much as we get, give them tax breaks e.g. no tax up to $9500 (its $6000 for us) , and they seem to be on the top of Homeswest priority lists.

Hi Tessata looks like you are in Perth too,, I'm a Basso girl and I went to the rally last thursday,and it was a great start for Perth pensioners ,with follow ups being planned ,which I intend to be part of if it is something that I can follow ,, The efforts of radio 6pr are very much appreciated

I am not here to say that Pensioners get it easy with houshold expenses and costs of living



I have Pensioner friends who live within their means and they are happy and content ........they do own their own homes and acordingly do not pay rent but they do however pay rates and taxes .........They have a car and are comfortably well off ........so thay tell me



We all have our own way of living and if you find life difficult then I am sorry ..........



I agree with Clay on this. A pensioner couple on joint pension of about $450 a week, and owning their own home, should be very comfortable, (providing they are both reasonably healthy and with no serious disabilities). In the last few years my wife has developed Parkinson's and I've been responsible for the cooking and shopping etc. I have been withdrawing $550 a fortnight for normal household and personal expenses and have found this is ample.The $300 or so dollars of the pension remain in the bank accumulate ready for the bills as they come in. I think an important point is to leave money in the bank for bills. If you draw it all out the temptation is to spend more.

I agree that some single pensioners and those renting will need more help, but any assistance should be selective.

I am sorry to hear of your wifes condition keandha and I know what this can do ..............We have a family member who has the same complaint and whilst he is coping with the disability and still works and drives his car and takes his boat to sea we fear he may get propgressively worse..........Have you heard of Michael J Fox ( the actor in America ) who has set up a foundation so as to hopefully find a cure



If you would like the web link please PM me and I will send it ...............They publish a regular news letter and it is free



clay

I agree with Keandha. My husband and I are pensioners and own our home. We also draw about $280 per week which is plenty for our expenses. We also have another account where we regularly put money in to cover our bills.

We have been married for 46 years and struggled to pay off our home and rear three sons. We don't smoke but do enjoy an outing for lunch and the pokies once a month. I also love my twice weekly bingo.

I do feel for people who have to pay rent, especially a single pensioner.

Moggy.

This is a test because I am having some trouble in sending an Adobe attachment with a P M ............I need to know what is wrong .............clay