QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
Ms PLIBERSEK (Sydney—Minister for Social Services) (14:47): I want to thank the member for Bean for his question. He is a terrific advocate for the 11,000 people on the age pension in his electorate. Like all of us on this side, he is absolutely committed to giving Australians security and dignity in retirement.
In fact, we're investing close to $70 billion this year in the age pension. Since we came to government, the maximum rate of the single age pension has increased by $6,500. There's something really remarkable about the Australian retirement income system, though.
As the group of people ageing in our community increases, as the population share of people who've reached retirement income age increases, we will actually see spending on age pensions as a share of our economy fall. How can that be—more older people, but we're spending less on those older people because of their pensions? Well, it's because of superannuation.
We spend just over two per cent of our GDP on age pensions, and, in coming decades, we'll spend under two per cent of our GDP on age pensions. Across the OECD, the average is just over nine per cent now. If we were spending nine per cent of our GDP today on age pensions, we would be spending not $70 billion; we would be spending around $280 billion.
If we were spending $280 billion this year on age pensions, it would be more than Medicare, the NDIS and aged care combined. The fact that we have helped people invest in their own retirement is obviously good for them—it gives them a better quality of living when they retire—but it is also good for working aged taxpayers who don't have those very high aged pension bills that we all need to pay for as working-age people.
If you weaken superannuation, Australians retire with less, and working-age Australian taxpayers actually have to find more to pay for aged pensions. The choice for those opposite is—what do they want to do? Do they want to cut aged pensions, or do they want working-age people paying more for the aged pension system?
The reason those opposite want to raid your super is they don't support pay increases today. What we say on this side is we want higher wages and lower taxes today and a more dignified retirement with higher super and a great aged-care safety net for the future. (Time expired)