Incorrect information about changes to Australia’s Age Pension age have been circulating online, including being shown in Google’s AI Overview this week. (Source: Getty/Facebook)
False information has been circulating online claiming the retirement age will be increasing and it’s even been picked up by Google’s AI Overview and Discover service. There has been a spate of fake news stories targeting retirees and Centrelink recipients, which Aussies are being told not to believe.
One story from an obscure website claimed the “official retirement age” in Australia would increase from 67 to 68 from November 10. This information was picked up by Google’s AI overview function earlier this week and appeared in some searches, but has since been fixed.
A Department of Social Services spokesperson has told Yahoo Finance there is no truth to claims the age you can access the Age Pension is increasing.
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“The government has no plans to change the Age Pension age,” the spokesperson said.
“The Age Pension eligibility age is 67, however you may apply up to 13 weeks earlier.”
While there is no set retirement age in Australia, people are eligible to access the Age Pension at 67.
The starting age for the Age Pension has gradually increased since 2017, but there are no current plans to raise it further.
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A number of similar online stories claiming the Australian pension age was changing have also popped up among the most popular news articles on Google’s Discover service in recent weeks.
One story claimed Australia would be getting a new pension age from November 23, “affecting more than 700,000 seniors”. Another told people to say “goodbye to retirement at 67” and claimed a new pension age had been “officially announced” in Australia.
It’s understood Google has policies against showing inaccurate information about civic information in its Search features like featured snippets.
“We aim to surface relevant, high quality information in all our Search features and we continue to raise the bar for quality with ongoing updates and improvements,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement shared with Yahoo Finance.
“When issues arise including if our features misinterpret web content or miss some context, we use those examples to improve and take appropriate action under our policies.”
Similar issues have also been reported in the UK, with data from analytics site NewzDash showing the most popular story on Google Discover in October falsely claimed over-62s were facing new driving licence rules.
The second most popular story incorrectly claimed the state pension age was changing, with the headline “Goodbye to Retiring at 67 – UK Govt Announces the New State Pension Age”.
Australians have been encouraged to visit the genuine Services Australia website if they are unsure if Centrelink information they see online is real.
Services Australia noted it had also seen fake information circulating online about Centrelink payments that aren’t real or are no longer available.
That can include “one off” and “bonus payments” which they may claim will help with the cost of living, those getting the age pension, carer payment or carer allowance, or those with concession cards.
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