Pensioners set to receive a one-off cash boost to ease rising cost of living

Pensioners and self-funded retirees who hold concession cards are set to receive a one-off cash boost to help ease the financial pressures from the rising cost of living.

The doubled cost of living payment will see South Australian home owner-occupiers receive up to $449 and renters and self-funded retirees $224.60 per household.

South Australia Premier Peter Malinauskas said the payment is perfectly timed to combat the financial pressures many Australians are facing.

With the rising cost of living pressures, inflation and an influx of interest rates this payment could not come at a better time.

This one-off, doubled Cost of Living Concession payment was what we promised.

And we’re now delivering on it.

— Peter Malinauskas (@PMalinauskasMP) August 28, 2022

Pensioner Dave Matthews is one of 192,000 South Australians who is looking forward to the payment hitting his bank account, telling reporters that the current cost of living has forced him to keep his grocery spending to a minimum, consisting of mostly budget items.

“I haven’t done much spending outside of necessities, you know, no luxury items,” he said.

“It is nice to have that little bit of buffer zone, not needing to look at it every week and work out every single cent, knowing that worst comes to worst, I’ve got that money in the bank.”

Dave here is one of the 192,000 South Australians who will receive the Cost of Living Concession payment.

It’s the largest ever State Government payment to concession card holders and low-income earners. pic.twitter.com/u7wskidv4Y

— Peter Malinauskas (@PMalinauskasMP) August 28, 2022

Social Services Minister Nat Cook said the government is working hard on bringing election promises to fruition.

“We really have seen an increased burden of cost-of-living pressures to households throughout Australia over the past couple of years, escalating to a point where people can be struggling to not just put food on the table, but to achieve any kind of connection to their community,” she said.

“This is the biggest single concession payment that has been delivered to the pockets of South Australians in history.

“We have put more than $78 million into bank accounts [of South Australians] in the past week and they are continuing to be paid so that they can then avoid dreadful decisions and choices that nobody should have to make.”

This boost isn’t the only financial aid coming to pensioners, as the pension payment is expected to increase by $25.50 a fortnight, beginning in September 2022.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said “this indexation” was crucial “to keep up with the skyrocketing cost of living.”

“The shape of the challenge to inflation will get worse before it gets better but it will get better,” he recently told reporters.

“We understand that pensioners are doing it incredibly tough when it comes to their costs of essentials like groceries, electricity and petrol and in other parts of the household budget.

“We don’t want to see pensioners fall further and further behind.”

South Australians have until December 2022 to apply for the cash bonus.