With family in Israel, Russia, Georgia and the United States, Melbourne pensioner Nina Rubinstein treasures overseas travel.
Flights are expensive so her trips are infrequent.
When the grandmother originally from Israel gets the chance to visit loved ones she makes the most of it, leaving Australia for months at a time.
She was shocked when she learnt about federal government plans to reduce the time pensioners can spend overseas before their Age Pension is impacted from 26 weeks to six weeks.
"I was actually horrified when I heard this was going to happen because I am older now I want to travel at length. It takes about three weeks to get over the long flight and before you know it I have to fly back."
The government is proposing that from the first of January 2017 pensioners who have spent less than 35-years of their working life in Australia have their welfare benefit reduced after six weeks of living abroad.
Their payment would then be adjusted according to the length of time the pensioner lived and worked in Australia between the age of 16 and the pension age, currently 65.
Ms Rubinstein is hugely relieved she makes the 35-year cut-off, but only just.
She feels deeply for pensioners who could be impacted.
"You wait all your life to retire, and go somewhere, spend time with your family or friends, travel a little bit because you didn't have a chance raising your family. I think pensioners deserve better. They deserve to be a little bit more relaxed about getting that not very big, but at least some kind of safe income."
The Federation of Ethnic Communities' Councils of Australia says the change would discriminate against people not born in Australia.
Chairman Joe Caputo says migrants visiting sick relatives, those returning to their homeland for the first time and others taking the trip of a lifetime would be affected.
But he can't put a number on how many.
"We know that almost 40 per cent of total pensioners in Australia were born overseas. But we don't have the breakdown in terms of those who have been here for less than 35 years. So we are not quite sure about the numbers of those that will be affected by it. But we understand it will be a considerable number. A huge percentage."
COTA (co-ta) Australia, which represents the rights and interests of older Australians, says it is understandable that people born overseas wish to visit their families for long periods of time, and believed they should not be penalised.
Chief Executive Ian Yates says the proposed changes are unnecessary.
"This is not about anyone rorting the income security system. This is a bit of penny pinching on behalf of government. It doesn't save a huge amount of money over forward estimates."
The Senate Committee looking at the plan is scheduled to report on February 4th 2016.
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