Know Your Rights When You Retire [antikvár]

ForewordWhy a guide to the law fór the over 50's? Surely the law is the same for everyone, no matter what their age.In one sense of course, it is but in another sense, the law does distinguish people and divide them into separate categories according to their age.For example, at age 65 for men and 60 for women, Australians become entitled to a means tested pension. At age 70, the income test for the pension changes. At age 65, most employed people must compulsorily retire. Public servants may sometimes volun-tarily retire at earlier specified ages 60, 55 and sometimes even 50. A director of a public company must retire once s/he turns 72. These are just a few examples of the way in which people's rights and the way they may live their lives are determined by chronological age.Not only are there legal distinctions according to age, but age gives rise to differences in people's interests and in their needs from life.For example, someone of 18 will not usually be greatly interested in superannuation and will perhaps have a lesser need for income security. The older a person gets, the more statistically likely it is that s/he will be sick or unable to work for a living and so health care and pension laws become correspondingly more important.As they get older, people must look at their housing needs, their support needs, what their leisure activities will be, and how to manage their money. Changing circumstances may make it necessary to check that a will is still relevant or perhaps should be changed.Older people in our community are increasingly asserting their right to make their own decisions about their own lives. To make rational and sensible decisions it is essential to be informed. And yet as a group, older people have been described as the 'infor-mation poor'.This book is intended as a resource to assist older members of the community to know, and to understand better, what law-related problems they might have to face, what their legal rights are, what laws are relevant to their needs, and how to get help and advice when they need it.