Centrelink pensioner reveals sad daily change in $630 struggle as older Aussies face ‘un-retirement’

More older Australians are having to stay in the workforce for longer than planned as cost of living concerns force them to push back retirement. It’s a trend that is seeing more workers either missing out on a comfortable retirement or sacrificing their golden years.

Em Farr, 59, relies on a modest fixed income and says it’s become increasingly impossible in the past year to live like she is used to. “I’ve really, really had to tighten everything, which I’ve never had to do in my whole life,” she told Yahoo Finance.

Due to a medical condition she will rely on Centrelink in the years ahead, with little ability to work. But Farr thinks she will still need to find another source of income to give her some much-needed breathing room.

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“I had a little bit of income protection through superannuation, which I was drawing on,” she said. “But that finishes at 60.”

She applied for the disability support pension, with Centrelink currently topping up her payments before moving to the full DSP.

“So I dare say I’m probably gonna be living on maybe $630, $650,” she said.

The maximum Disability Support Pension (DSP) is $1,237.70 per fortnight for a single adult and $1,866.00 combined per fortnight for a couple.

Farr medically retired at the age of 47 and had to use some of her superannuation to carry out renovations to make her Shellharbour home on the NSW coast more wheelchair-friendly. She feels lucky and grateful that she doesn’t have to pay rent because her house has long been paid off, but says living on a modest fixed income has begun to overwhelm her.

Diet change and veggie garden to counter $25,000 in bills

She previously had her son living with her who was paying some board, but has been living alone for about the past year and says the rising cost of essentials like food and utilities has forced her to change how she lives.

“The cost of living lately with petrol, groceries, meat, fruit, veggies. It’s Incredible,” she said.

“I add up most of my bills – with groceries and utilities and things, it’s pretty much $25,000 [a year]. That’s about $500 a week. And if we’re only getting $600, I know it’s not the government’s problem … but I’m just trying to make that money stretch.”

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She has changed how she eats, relying more on grain-based foods because they are affordable and last longer and eating meat much less frequently, dropping from a few times a week to once a fortnight. She has also tried to grow more of her produce in her garden to save money.

“I’m sort of from a Middle East and Mediterranean background. So I’m used to, you know, the poor man’s food. We do a lot of grains and legumes. I’ve been able to pull back on meats.

“And I’ve started a veggie garden to buy less,” she said.

Older Aussies facing delayed retirement as employers urged to embrace flexible work

While she can’t go back to work, Farr is not alone in changing her lifestyle amid cost pressures which can be particularly pertinent among Australians of retirement age.

New research from Australian Seniors shows cost of living has changed the retirement plans for about half of Aussies aged over 50, with everyday expenses (63 per cent) and inadequate superannuation balances (50 per cent) being the main drivers, according to the group’s Ageing in the Workforce Report 2026.

Of those who have changed their plans, about seven in 10 say they are working, or plan to work, for about three or more years longer than anticipated.

Overall 2 in 5 (40 per cent) said they would ideally retire before 65 years old, however less than 1 in 4 (24 per cent) feel they are likely to retire before that age.

The report also found that many older Australians were happy to stay in the workforce for longer if they were supported by flexible conditions.

More than one in four (27 per cent) said workplace flexibility makes them more likely to retire later, with nearly half expecting to work 5+ years longer because of it.

For Farr, because of her condition, she struggles to use a computer and has few options to keep working to make the required extra income. She thinks she will need to rent out a bedroom in her house to a local student to bring in some more money, but worries about how it will impact her pension payment.

In general, retirement concerns are not an uncommon story among people she knows, she told Yahoo Finance.

“I’ve got a lot of single friends around my age. They definitely would love to retire, but they cannot afford to, so they’ll be looking at probably working to 67.”

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