Victoria’s top pension postcodes split between city and country

Victoria has 4500 fewer people receiving an age pension than it did five years ago. Here’s the ten most popular towns in the state for pensioners and and why the numbers have dropped.

Victoria’s age pensioner numbers are shrinking at the fastest pace in Australia as seniors head north or retire richer.

New data from the Department of Social Services shows Victorian age pension recipients totalled 614,864 in March, a drop of 4512 since March 2016.

New South Wales was the only other state to record a fall in pensioners, while retirees flocked to Queensland’s regions and other states.

Postcode 3977 - which includes Cranbourne, Sandhurst and Skye – has the state’s biggest collection of age pension recipients at 7320, followed by Ballarat postcode 3350 with 7076 pensioners. The top 10 was split evenly between city and regional centres.

Social researcher Mark McCrindle says super is doing its job. Picture: Jordan Shields

Social researcher Mark McCrindle said while Victoria was a “capital city-centric state”, it still had retirement meccas in the Geelong region and Mornington Peninsula.

Nationally, Australia’s ageing population has defied fears it would create a huge welfare bill, with age pension recipients rising just 2 per cent to 2.59 million in five years. However, the number of people with a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card (CSHC) jumped 49 per cent to 424,500.

Mr McCrindle said the CSHC surge suggested rising numbers of retirees were asset rich. CSHC holders can have unlimited assets and its only financial barrier is a generous income test in which a couple earning $89,000 can still get the card and its attached benefits.

“The Baby Boomers are increasingly self-funded,” Mr McCrindle said.

“It’s a sign that superannuation is doing its job and property investment is doing its job.”

Association of Independent Retirees president Wayne Strandquist said just 50 per cent of people retiring today were relying on a full or part pension and the trend away from government welfare would continue.

“The proportion of people on a full age pension is diminishing,” he said.

Mr Strandquist said the CSHC was historically only held by age pensioners, but had been boosted by seniors groups urging retirees to check their eligibility, plus the government giving cardholders access to Covid stimulus payments last year.

“More and more organisations such as ours are campaigning among our memberships to make them aware that the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card and its benefits is a very useful thing to have,” he said.

“It’s becoming much more valuable beyond the pharmaceutical benefits.”

State governments are increasingly allowing CSHC holders to access discounts in areas such as transport, council rates and energy bills.

Council on the Ageing chief executive Ian Yates said more Baby Boomers were delaying retirement.

“A significant proportion of people between pension age and their 70s are still working, not necessarily full-time but it takes them out of the pension system,” he said.

“More people are retiring with more superannuation and other assets, and may return to the pension system later.”

Mr Yates said the latest data echoed the recent Retirement Income Review’s findings that the age pension was affordable to the nation for “as far forward as you can see”.

“The government and opposition ought to be thinking about reassuring future retirees that the pension is sustainable,” he said.