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Parties battle for military pension vote
The Federal Opposition has recommitted to indexing military superannuation for the over-55s in the same way as age and service pensions.
In a policy document it recommitted to a pledge it made in March to index Defence Forces Retirement Benefit (DFRB) and the Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits (DFRDB) military superannuation pensions.
The defined benefit schemes are currently indexed in line with the consumer price index (CPI), while the age pension is indexed to a formula that calculates growth in CPI, total average weekly earnings and the pensioner and beneficiary living cost index.
Lobby groups have called for a change in military pension indexation for some time. The Superannuated Commonwealth Officers Association (SCOA) in its pre-Budget submission this year said that during the past 15 years since the Government abandoned indexing the age pension to CPI only, the CPI had increased by 52 per cent compared to the age pension which had increased by 128 per cent.
The Federal Government announced it would boost the retirement savings of over 26,000 retired Australian Defence personnel next year by indexing contributions from DFRB and DFRDB members who are over 65 in the same way as age and service pensions.
However, the Coalition called the Government’s promise into question, citing Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s “broken promise” to ensure fairness for military pensions in 2007. It said its plans would affect 57,000 military super members.
“During the current Parliament, we introduced legislation to provide fair indexation for veterans and their families,” it said.
“The legislation was defeated by Labor and the Greens.”
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