Aussie pensioner rejected from 200 jobs in ‘disturbing’ retirement trend
An Aussie pensioner trying to get a job as his savings diminish and the cost of living forces him into an enduring struggle has applied for and been rejected from up to 200 jobs.
The $640 a week Tom Tesoro gets as a pensioner barely covered his recent rent hike so on top of restricting what he eats and carefully budgeting with his savings he had to move more than 1300 kilometres away to barely scrape by.
Not before the 68-year-old, who worked as an insurance broker for 37 years, tried to get back into the workforce to top up his income, applying for everything from insurance and call centre jobs, to delivering pizza and cleaning.
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After months of trying, Tom got nowhere and rarely even received a response to his applications in a “disturbing trend” older Australians are facing as they try to re-enter the workforce.
“In the meantime my savings [have] depleted and I’m thinking ‘What am I going to do? I’m running out of money and I can’t afford to stay [in my rental]’,” Tom told Yahoo Finance.
“I started to get really depressed and I pulled back on spending to the point where I would sit inside my apartment and do nothing and not even drive the car because of petrol costs.”
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Tom believes older Aussies like himself are discriminated against when applying for jobs, particularly at a time when the labour market remains incredibly tight.
“There are too many people applying … [Recruiters] want immediate results and to place somebody into a position as quickly as possible. So they are not going to place a 68-year-old pensioner inside a role,” Tom said.
“I stopped applying because you get more and more depressed when you apply for jobs and even though you’ve got so much experience, you don’t get call centre jobs or dishwashing jobs.”
Older Aussies facing ‘silent prejudice’
Tom is part of the almost two-thirds of older Aussies who cut back on their spending due to cost-of-living pressures.
The financial burden has driven many to consider going back to work and harsh pension rules are set to be changed with the government's plan to permanently increase the amount they can work without having payments reduced.
But, the Work Bonus - set to increase from $7,800 to $11,800 on January 1 if passed - will make little difference if older Australians aren't given the chance to get a job.