<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>At 74 years old, Larry Allison's alarm clock still goes off at 5.15am two days a week. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>While many his age are enjoying a quiet retirement, the former merchant banker and removalist is climbing behind the wheel of a school bus in Port Stephens, on the north coast of New South Wales, for his part-time job.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Allison is one of a growing number of Australian seniors who have discovered that a lifetime of hard work isn't enough to keep up with a modern cost-of-living crisis. </span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He told </span><a href="http://nine.com.au"><span>nine.com.au</span></a><span> he simply couldn't survive the increases in all of his major expenses if he didn't keep working.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Everything just keeps going up - more than the rate of inflation," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Over the last 12 months, our electricity is up 33 percent, insurance has gone up by 20 percent, and it just doesn't stop."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/fuel-crisis-australia-truck-drivers-warning-as-diesel-shortage-poses-deadly-risk-remote-highways/1d5bb6be-e154-4486-8d33-bd8f6cf9cf24" rel="" target="" title="Truck driver's warning as diesel shortage poses deadly risk"><strong><span>Truck driver's warning as diesel shortage poses deadly risk</span></strong></a></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/working-to-the-grave-why-some-aussies-are-still-clocking-on-a-decade-after-retirement/e5c6a61e-0065-4121-9c71-0b8ba9091f68" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Allison originally thought he would retire at 65. Now, he estimates he will have to keep working until he is at least 80.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In a recent </span><a href="http://change.org" rel="" target="" title=""><span>Change.org</span></a><span> petition started by Allison, the pensioner laid bare the reality of his "golden years."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I wake up each week knowing that I still have to work two days just to keep my head above water," Allison wrote. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I am an age pensioner, and after a lifetime of hard work, it's disheartening to see that I can't afford to slow down and enjoy my golden years at home. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Instead, I am forced to continue working because the cost of living has become unbearable."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h2><span>Pensioners working longer than ever</span></h2></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Allison's struggle is reflected in a nationwide trend of Australians delaying full retirement. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>According to the latest Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey data, retirement rates have plummeted over the last two decades.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In 2003, roughly 70 percent of women and nearly half of men aged 60 - 64 had fully retired. Today, those numbers have fallen to 41 percent and 27 percent respectively. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Even for those in their late sixties (65–69), retirement is no longer a given: only 66 percent of women and 61 percent of men in this age bracket are fully retired, down from much higher levels twenty years ago.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The physical and mental toll of working into one's late seventies is significant. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>To keep his heavy vehicle licence, Allison undergoes annual driving tests and check-ups with an endocrinologist, a heart specialist, and a GP. This year, a cognitive test will be added.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I had open-heart surgery three years ago... but I still managed to get back to work," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h2><span>Calls for reform: "Let pensioners work"</span></h2></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A common frustration for many working seniors lies with the pension income test. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Currently, once a single pensioner earns over $218 a fortnight (or $380 for a couple), their pension payments are reduced by 50 cents for every dollar earned.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"When I was working three or four days a week, I was losing 50 cents in every dollar, plus paying 30 cents in tax," Allison said. "There was no point."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>This sentiment is at the heart of the National Seniors Australia (NSA) "Let Pensioners Work" campaign. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The NSA is lobbying the government to exempt employment income from the Age Pension income test entirely. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They argue the current system effectively "taxes" seniors at a higher marginal rate than many high-income earners, discouraging them from filling critical labour shortages in sectors like aged care and agriculture.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Billy Pringle, Senior Policy Officer for the Combined Pensioners &amp; Superannuants Association (CPSA), said the cost-of-living squeeze was becoming unbearable for many pensioners. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>While the pension is indexed to the CPI, Pringle points out that those increases always arrive after the prices have already spiked.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Pensioners are always having to play catch-up," Pringle said. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We've heard from people who are eating less nutritious meals because they aren't able to get fresh fruit and vegetables... or they might be skipping meals altogether."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Pringle warns that for those who aren't physically able to "pick up an extra shift" like Allison, the situation is dire. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"People have paid tax their whole life with the promise that they can retire, and then they are forced back into the workforce because of circumstance."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h2><span>The shifting safety net</span></h2></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>To prevent the pension from losing its value, the government uses a complex "triple-check" system for indexation every March and September. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It compares the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures general inflation, with the Pensioner and Beneficiary Living Cost Index (PBLCI), which is tailored to the specific spending patterns of seniors - like higher healthcare and energy costs. The pension is increased by whichever of these two is higher. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Finally, the rate is benchmarked against Male Total Average Weekly Earnings to ensure pensioners' living standards don't fall too far behind those of workers.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>However, Pringle points out that these metrics often fail to capture the true financial burden on individuals, noting that while rent factors in at about 6 percent of the CPI and 20 percent of the PBLCI, "there's very few people for whom rent is only six or even 20 percent of their income and of their costs; mostly it's north of 30 percent."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>While these shifts happen twice a year, they are often overshadowed by the "Work Bonus" rules. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In late 2023, the federal government made significant reforms to this scheme, permanently increasing the "Work Bonus Bank" limit from $7800 to $11,800. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>This allowed new pensioners to start with a $4000 credit, theoretically letting them earn more from a job before their pension began to dwindle.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>However, for Allison and thousands of others, even these "banked" credits disappear quickly under the weight of bill shock coming in.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We just got our last electricity bill, it was $954 for the last quarter, and we have also just paid our rates - there goes another $2700," Allison said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><strong><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></strong></em><span> </span><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><em><strong><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="" title=""><em><strong><span>Apple</span></strong></em></a><span> </span><em><strong><span>and</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" target="" title=""><em><strong><span>Google Play</span></strong></em></a></li><li><em><strong><span>Make 9News your preferred source on Google by</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://9.nine.com.au/8x987w" target="" title=""><em><strong><span>ticking this box here</span></strong></em></a></li><li><em><strong><span>Sign up to</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://login.nine.com.au/edm?client_id=nineatnine" target="" title=""><em><strong><span>our breaking newsletter here</span></strong></em></a></li></ul></div></div>