Pension
My Husband was on a Disability Pension when we Married in 1983
In 2005 he spent 5 Months in Hospital, due to a Doctor prescribing a Heart drug that he should not have taken because he was Asthmatic. He was hospitalised and was given 2 other drugs that should not have been given with the first Tablet and almost died, after 3 months he spent 10 days in Intensive care where they finally discovered the problem, after he went from 135 Kilos to 87 kilos, Damaged his Heart, lungs, kidneys, vocal chords, cellulitis, and return of healed skingrafted ulcer on his leg. He spent a month in Rehabilitation learning to Walk, and talk.
I became his carer.
Then he broke his hip another month in Rehab.
I have been on the wives pension since 1983, worked a small part time job, and been a carer,
My Husband received a Disability support pension + Mobility Allowance, and for 6 months from June 2009 to December 2009 Worked in a sheltered workshop.
In October 2009 My Husband was fitted with a Pacemaker due to the damage to his heart, and also an ablation to the top of his heart.
In December 2009 my husband died suddenly, of a massave heart attack ???? the Coroner has not been able to complete an inquest due to a large backlog.
Finally were I am going..... I received a wives pension until March 2010, plus $2,000 bearevement allowance, then my pension was cut by $236 per Fortnight, and I lost my Pension card, because I was 59, when I turned 60 they gave me back my pension card.
I am on a widows allowance which I would not have received If I had not been a carer for my husband, it is very difficult on this amount less than 1/3 of what we were receiving together.
I have to stay on this allowance 5 years until I am 65..
A friend who is on the aged pension was thrown out by his much younger wife, and suggested we could get married,
No impossible There is no longer a wives pension I would get Newstart, no consession card
and less money until 65.
We could live together in my Housing commission house, and pay extra rent, but then centerlink would count us as a couple and I would still be changed to newstart, we can't even help each other.
Meanwhile I struggle to make ends meet, he lives in a friends Garage, and he eats some nights with me and we share the cost of food.
It is a big struggle for most pensioners very difficult a a time when you loose your husband, your grieving and finding it very hard. A single pension,would make life a lot easier.
Or should we live together and stay as we are and run the risk of being fined or Jailed,
It just isn't worth the risk !
Lynnaire, I feel for you, as anyone who regularly reads this site I used to comment on here quite often about the inequalities forced onto the women of australia(myself included) when they are widowed (or divorced or separated) and they are over the age of 54..
In all my battles with the politicians about getting the widow allowance changed back to the pension it once was (it ceased being a pension in 1997) I have it in writing from Canberra that it is an adequate income to live on whilst looking for work (I would like to see them live on it).
To all of those who continuosly say get out and get a job, boy do I wish you would pull your heads in, the very fact is that to get this benefit we must have been out of the workforce for at least ten years (and then all the other criteria including being older than 54) and in a lot of cases the woman has never worked.
I know for a fact that even if you do apply for jobs you do not even get a reply and when a woman of 34 who is fully qualified in Health Research stuff can not get a job (a friend of mines daughter is in this situation ) how in the heck do you expect women of our age (I am 62) to get work.
The only person on this site who does not shoot us down in flames immediately we mention anything is Innes and in relation to the voting recently I did not vote for either major party because they both have the same comment- they are doing away with gender based benefits, it is only meant to be a temporary benefit and it is being phased out completely.
Lynnaire you are in the situation like me where by you are going to have to battle on, hope you have family and/or friends who can help you with getting food (I have to go to charities at times as the mortgage payment has to have a higher priority)and do what I do , I keep writing to the paper and to my federal politiician and if I see any articles in the paper on a sunday (the only paper I buy)I write in response to that.
If you want some support and do not want to get all the attacks like I have had then feel free to send me a private message.
In closing hugs to you and thoughts of support to you