Retirees who rent are being left behind.
Commonwealth Rent Assistance is inadequate. The federal government should life the maximum rate by 50 per cent for singles and 40 per cent for couples. And Rent Assistance should also be indexed to changes in rents for the cheapest 25 per cent of homes in capital cities.
Given the even higher rates of financial stress among younger renters, any increase to Rent Assistance should apply to working-age households as well.
Boosting Rent Assistance for all recipients in this way would cost the federal budget about $2 billion a year, with about $500 million of this going to retirees.
Brendan Coates
Former Housing and Economic Security Program Director
Brendan Coates was the Housing and Economic Security Program Director at Grattan Institute, where he leads Grattan’s work on housing, retirement incomes and superannuation.
Joey Moloney
Housing and Economic Security Deputy Program Director
Joey Moloney is the Deputy Program Director of Grattan Institute’s Housing and Economic Security program. He has worked at the Productivity Commission and the Commonwealth Treasury, with a focus on the superannuation system and retirement income policy.