The Age Pension age isn’t changing, despite what some online articles claim. (Source: Getty) <\/p>\n
The Australian government has confirmed there are no plans at the moment to change the age when Aussies can access the Age Pension<\/a>. Fake news sites sporadically spread misinformation<\/a> around essential retirement information<\/a> as a means to generate cheap ad revenue.<\/p>\n An article published this week pulled in plenty of interest, probably due to the headline warning that Aussies should say “goodbye to retirement at 67”. But a spokesperson for the Department of Social Services (DSS) told Yahoo Finance that there’s absolutely no truth to this.<\/p>\n “The government has no plans to change the Age Pension age,” they said.<\/p>\n The online news article kicked off by saying the age pension change had been “officially announced for everyone”.<\/p>\n But if a reader went past the headline, it claimed there is “talk of a new pension age in Australia”, even though there hasn’t been any chatter from the government about adjusting the retirement age<\/a> from the current 67 mark.<\/p>\n The article added that changes were being not only discussed in Australia, but also Canada, the UK and the US.<\/p>\n While it didn’t elaborate on what those alterations could be, it urged people to be wary of how it might impact them if the pension age did go up.<\/p>\n These fake claims proliferate online from time to time<\/a> despite there being very little, to zero truth contained in them.<\/p>\n Do you have a story? Email stew.perrie@yahooinc.com<\/p>\n The DSS reiterated that, at the moment, the pension age is 67, however “you may apply up to 13 weeks earlier”.<\/p>\n Services Australia is in charge of administering the pension payment and eligibility details can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n While there is no official directive from the government about the pension age, it could be increased in the coming years if there is a broader shift in people delaying their retirement.<\/p>\n A Macquarie University study<\/a> predicted the age to access the pension will increase to 68 by 2030, then again to 69 by 2036 and then 70 years old by 2050.<\/p>\n “Although any policy changes related to age pension eligibility would inevitably be unpopular, gradual change is expected to be better tolerated than a sudden jump,” the university said.<\/p>\n “The need for change is underpinned by important demographic changes.<\/p>\n Story Continues <\/p>\n “This includes a growing proportion of the population expecting to receive a government-funded pension compared to a shrinking taxpayer base, while Australians are also living longer and generally experiencing better health as they age.”<\/p>\n KPMG analysis last year found the average age of retirement in Australia for men is 66.2 years and 64.8 years for women.<\/p>\n But there is no official rule around when a person is meant to retire, and they have to weigh up a lot of factors when making this decision.<\/p>\n Some might choose to work well into their 60s and even in their 70s to pay off their mortgages and other debts, keep their minds moving, retain a sense of purpose, or to squirrel away a bit more money into their superannuation.<\/p>\n National Seniors Australia found money was the top reason 60 per cent of pensioners and 46 per cent of non-pensioners decided to return to work.<\/p>\n \u201cMany are going back to work because of those positive job experiences but there are a number of them [who are] struggling and, in particular, those that are renting,\u201d National Seniors CEO Chris Grice told Yahoo Finance.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are going back to work for a couple of days in order to try and supplement their income to help them meet the rising costs.\u201d<\/p>\n If a person aged 60 or over retires from their job and plans not work, they can access their superannuation nest egg.<\/p>\n Once they hit 65, they can access their super even if they are still working.<\/p>\n There are very limited circumstances when a person can access their super before those ages, however they are usually only for a last resort to pay for certain emergency costs.<\/p>\n The ATO will unlock a person’s nest egg early to help them deal with severe financial hardship as well as compassionate reasons like medical treatment or funeral costs.<\/p>\n Get the latest Yahoo Finance news – follow us on Facebook<\/a>, LinkedIn<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n