Yahoo Finance Budget 2022: Centrelink recipients to get major cash boost
Centrelink recipients can expect another cash boost on the horizon after today's Federal Budget.
An additional $33 billion will go towards pension and other welfare payments, with the “skyrocketing” cost of living expected to push payments higher.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the Government needed to find billions in extra funding because welfare payments were pegged to inflation.
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"One of the pressures on the Budget is making sure we can find room for that indexation so that people who are on pensions and payments get a little bit of help twice a year to try and keep up with the skyrocketing cost of living," Chalmers told ABC News.
He said about a third of the additional $33 billion would go to the aged pension and another third to JobSeeker payments.
When will the boost come?
Twice a year, welfare payments are examined to ensure they are keeping up with the cost of living - once in March and again in September.
Payments were boosted in September, where welfare recipients saw the largest indexation increase to payments in more than 30 years for allowances, and 12 years for pensions.
Payments will be examined again in March 2023 but, with the Treasurer ensuring extra funds are ready, it is anticipated payments will lift again.
Centrelink payments not high enough
Jobseeker payments need to be lifted to $73 a day to help Aussies keep up with the rising cost of living, the ACOSS Cost of Living report found.
The report interviewed jobseekers and revealed the harsh reality of how difficult it was to live off the payment as the cost of living continued to rise.
The report found that those on Jobseeker payments were struggling to pay rent, with 96 per cent spending more than 30 per cent of their income on rent, meaning they were in housing stress.
The report also found that increased grocery prices were forcing people on income support to compromise their nutrition.
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