Ian Henschke Chief Advocate for National Seniors Australia emphasises that the work bonus for pensioners should just be the beginning of national reforms | A Current Affair
Ian Henschke from National Seniors Australia. I think we need to recognise that we’ve got a jobs crisis in Australia, 450,000 plus jobs going begging and we’ve got 4.5 million Australians over 65. Ian says the work bonus should just be the beginning of major reforms in the system. He’d like to see Australia follow in the footsteps of New Zealand, where pensioners can work as much as they like without losing benefits. New Zealand has a workforce participation rate of 71%, we’ve got 66%, they’ve got 5% more of their population working and most of it is older workers. That’s where they’re getting their workforce from. Let’s take the handbrake off the economy and let those pensioners work and let those retirees work.