Kate Atkinson
WHAT WAS CLAIMED
The government is changing the pension asset test.
OUR VERDICT
False. The government has no policy to change the pension.
AAP FactCheck – Australian pensioners aren’t facing changes to their entitlements, despite false claims doing the rounds via a chain-mail message on social media.
The Australian government has not announced any planned changes to pension entitlements or asset tests, and pension experts are unaware of any changes.
The chain mail-style message has been spreading online in different formats for at least 10 years, and in early 2025 is being shared again in a Facebook post.
“All Senators in Australian Government! So, claiming a pension is an ‘embarrassing admission of poverty’?” the message in the post reads. “ … The Politicians in power are changing the Pension Assets Test for everyone in Australia except themselves. This will negatively affect everyone who thought they had enough to retire on. It will also affect disability pensions, widow pensions and more.”
It goes on to assert that politicians vote to give themselves a pay rise and have access to a privileged healthcare system separate from the rest of the population.
“The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so our politicians should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work,” it continues.
“If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people, then it will only take three or so days for most Australians to receive the message.”
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