clipped from: www.abc.net.au An OECD report on pensions has found Australia has one of the highest rates of poverty for people aged over 65.
The report says more than one in four Australian seniors live in poverty by international measures, which is the fourth highest old-age poverty rate in OECD countries, after Ireland, Korea and Mexico.
And the report says the "relatively low level of the age pension" is to blame for the high poverty level.
"Equivalent schemes in other OECD countries are worth 25 per cent more (compared with national average earnings) than the age pension in Australia," the report says.
"New Zealand's basic pension, for example, is worth 80 per cent more relative to average earnings than the age pension."
"Public pension spending is only 3.5 per cent of national income in Australia, compared with an average of over 7 per cent of GDP in OECD countries."