Bad tidings for retired ministers

By Uniting Church in Australia Assembly

Posted in News

The Federal Government has delivered bad Christmas tidings for more than 1,000 retired Uniting Church ministers whose retirement incomes were slashed by age pension changes in January 2016.

A change to the treatment of income in defined benefit superannuation schemes has meant that more than 80% of retired members in the UCA Beneficiary Fund have lost thousands of dollars a year, because it is harder for them to supplement their retirement income with the pension.

The UCA Assembly made representations to Social Services Minister Christian Porter during the year on behalf of affected members. After a long period of consideration, the Minister responded on Thursday 1 December saying he will not make an exception for them.

In a letter to Uniting Church officers, Minister Porter said:

“While this was a difficult decision for the Government, it was a fair one because it ensures that one group of pension age Australians are not treated more beneficially than another group, simply because their private income comes from a different source.”

Bruce Binnie, the Chair of the Uniting Church Employer Committee, says the Minister’s decision is unjust and unfair.

“We’re talking about people who’ve worked their entire lives on modest incomes like ministerial stipends.

“Now they and their beneficiaries have had their incomes reduced because the Government has moved the goalposts when they have no chance to respond to their change in circumstances,” says Bruce.

“The exemptions we sought have been allowed for military superannuation scheme members, but church ministers and their families have been snubbed.”

The scale of lost income to retired members of the Beneficiary Fund ranges from $5,000 to $8,500, and some as high as $10,000 a year.

Uniting Church in Australia President Stuart McMillan has called the Minister’s decision “distressing”.

“While future avenues for advocacy are unclear at this stage, the Assembly is committed to advocating on behalf of our retired ministers at every opportunity,” says Stuart.

Beneficiary Fund members experiencing hardship as a result of the Federal Government superannuation changes are encouraged to call the Mercer Super Trust Helpline on 1800 682 525 or Centrelink on 132 300.

New Times online will provide further updates on this story as they become available.


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