Your Rights at Retirement (2019)

Your Rights At Retirement: A guide to making decisions and navigating you through your later life. This booklet covers topics that include government services, financial decisions, working,  housing and aged care. The booklet can be used as a reference guide when you need to check a topic, or it can be read from cover to cover to get a snapshot of the services and supports on offer.

Foreword

The idea for this publication came about in 2012 when my predecessor, the first Age Discrimination Commissioner the Hon Susan Ryan AO, realised how complex it is to navigate the services, supports and the decisions that are part of retirement. Since then, there have been many changes to the ways we can access government services and much new information and support available.

Retirement is definitely a time for careful planning and for being well informed about what is available.

For many people it is hard to know where to start and what to plan. There is income support, health and aged care, senior’s cards, financial planning, superannuation, housing and rent assistance, to name a few. And to find out about each different topic you may have to contact a different government department or other service.

Your Rights at Retirement gives you plenty of information in one resource. It aims to guide you and prompt you to think about the decisions you should be making or planning for the future. It encourages you to plan your retirement finances so there are no unwanted surprises. It gives you information about forms of elder abuse and tips about how to avoid scams.

I hope this publication becomes a one-stop-shop reference guide, where you can find useful information about and the contact details for the many and various services out there.

It is not an authority on any one topic. Rather it is a beginning point. I encourage you to browse the contents and even read it from cover to cover. I guarantee you will learn about new services, processes and procedures.

Australia is lucky to have so many services and supports for older people. These help us to realise our human right to respect and dignity as we age.

I hope Your Rights at Retirement assists you to find the services that meet your needs so that you can enjoy retirement and make the most of this phase of life.

The Hon Kay Patterson AO

Age Discrimination Commissioner

April 2019