Why thousands of Aussies are sharing this single photo of a hard-working tradie: ‘So bloody true, mate’
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A picture of a hard-working tradie has gone viral as Australia gradually raises the pension age requirement from 65 to 67, and research suggests it should be pushed further.
Tradie holds a sign that reads: ‘Only a man who has worked in an office all his life would think you can work until you’re 70.’
It comes as Australia’s pension age rises to 67 on July 1 this year and research suggests it needs to be raised to 70 by 2050.
But many Aussies have hit back, claiming an older person’s body can’t handle physically demanding jobs.
‘My body is tired, as is my husband, who is 66. We both need to rest now. We planned to retire at age 65. Then they changed the goalposts,’ said one Aussie.
‘I worked as a butcher for 43 years. I’m almost 65, I think I’ve done enough, and my body agrees,’ added a second.
‘I spent years in a quarry as well as a coal mine, my body is physically worn out, so I agree with his poster 110 percent,’ wrote a third.
Outraged Australians react to proposal to raise pension age to 70 Share a photo of an Aussie worker (pictured)
‘My husband is now 60 in a physically demanding job, his body is saying ‘enough’,’ said another.
‘He did his job, raised a family, put food on the table, put a roof over our heads. He has now earned the right to slowly and enjoy some time to do what he wants.’
Others have called for Australian politicians to work as workers before deciding to raise the retirement age.
‘Politicians should all get off their chairs and do tradies for a week or two, then they’ll realize what a bad back thing is and realize your body won’t let you work until you’re 70,’ one person wrote.
A second added: ‘I’d like to see all politicians work as a bricklayer, boilermaker, plumber or a builder for a week – what we did for 65, they couldn’t do for a week.’
Currently, Australians born between July 1, 1952 and December 31, 1953 are able to receive pension wages at the age of 65 years and 6 months.
Those born after that date will be able to access their pension from age 66.
However, from July 1, anyone born after January 1, 1957 will have to work longer with the pension age rising to 67.
Professor of Statistics at Macquarie University, Hanlin Shang, claims their research suggests the pension age needs to be raised to 70.
‘As Australians live longer than ever before, this presents a challenge for governments to fund retirees through a pension scheme,’ said Macquarie University statistician Professor Hanlin Shang.
‘With fewer people in the working group and more in retirement, the Old Age Dependency Ratio (OADR) will be higher.
‘Does this mean there are fewer hard-working people to support older people? And with more and more elderly people in the population, this will create a burden on the public pension system.
‘Raising the pension age without taxing more is an obvious way to sustain the current pension scheme.’
The study suggests that a higher pension age of 70 should not be introduced until 2050, after rising to 68 by 2030 and 69 by 2036.
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