Rise in pension pay won't flow to unemployed
Sydney Morning Herald
Friday September 11, 2009
PEOPLE looking for work can spend more than five years living on one of the lowest social security payments, new figures show.People receiving the unemployment payment, known as Newstart, or the single parent payment are exempt from increases to the age and disability pension.In some cases the unemployed and single parents will be $108 a week worse off than other pensioners, who will receive their increased payments from September 20.The sum is sizeable enough, welfare groups say, to encourage people without jobs to try to be classified as eligible for higher-paying benefits.About 3.3 million age pensioners, disability support pensioners, carers, wife and widow pensioners and veterans will receive an increase in their payments of up to $70 a fortnight if they are single and up to $30 a fortnight if they are part of a couple.But the two million single parents and unemployed will not receive this increase.Instead they will receive smaller adjustments of about $3 a fortnight.Research done by the Australian Council of Social Service has found more than 100,000 unemployed people spent five or more years looking for work.
© 2009 Sydney Morning Herald