Home truths

Including the family home in the assets test for the Age Pension is the idea that just won’t go away. The Certified Practising Accountants of Australia recently asked teams for ideas on how to address issues relating to our ageing population. You guessed it – the winning team put forward a proposal to include the family home in the pension assets test. This is what you thought of the idea.

“We should arrange for a petition of demands. (1) Universal Pension for all retirees, no asset or income tests. (2) Any political party contemplating forcing retirees to sell their home to supplement their pension will feel the anger of millions of retirees at the next federal election.”

“It is ludicrous that million dollar homes are not included in the pension assets test. [Pension] eligibility requires a complete overhaul.”

“There should be no means test at all. Whoever pays tax over a certain number of years gets a pension, regardless of assets or income. Part of a Universal wage idea. CERTAINLY never the family home – it is a home, not just an ‘asset’.” “If the family home is considered an asset for the assessment of an Age Pension, will the owner be able to claim a rebate on all upkeep and expenses related to the home?”

“I own my home and see no problem with the home being included [in the Age Pension assets test]. I have seen so many elderly hold onto their home, not having a penny in the bank, scrimping and saving for food, struggling to pay bills and needing a lot of home care, just because they fear losing the full pension.”

“A pensioner is a person who worked hard to buy a house and this house has increased in value over the years. What are they trying to do? Kick him off his house, take off his pension and make him join the lines of homeless?”

“It is clear that, if the majority of retirees want a comfortable standard of living in retirement, home equity release will become a greater source of income later in life.”

“Any government that brings [the family home] into pension testing will not be the government much longer.”

“The accountants seem to think that including the family home in the assessment for the pension would reduce the numbers on the pension and thus direct more money to aged care etc. If only! It would go into consolidated revenue and probably buy more submarines that will be obsolete by the time we get them.” “Universal pension for ALL over 65. No more asset testing. No more income testing. No more deeming rates.”