WA Seniors Cost of Living Rebate to be halved; Country Age Pension Fuel Card value to increase It’s a bittersweet day for regional WA Seniors and Pensioners.

Premier Colin Barnett announced this morning (Tuesday 24 June) that from July 1 the WA Seniors Cost of Living Rebate will be reduced from $163.90 to $82 for singles and $245.90 to $123 for couples.

The change is a flow-on effect of a $25 million cut to concession funding by the Abbott Liberal government.

The Cost of Living Rebate is available to WA Seniors Card holders who work less than 25 hours per week. It is the largest payment cycle ever undertaken by the Western Australian government, with 288,000 applications processed for 2013.

The Cost of Living Rebate was introduced in 2009 and for many is considered a lifeline.

However it’s not all bad news for WA’s regional pensioners. It was also announced that from July 1, the Country Age Pension Fuel Card value will increase from $500 to $550.

The Country Age Pension Fuel Card is available to a person or couples in WA receiving a Centrelink Age Pension, Carer Payment, Disability Support Pension, Wife Pension or Widow B Pension or a Department of Veterans’ Affairs Service Pension, Social Security Age Pension or Income Support Supplement. It can be used in assisting to purchase fuel or taxi fares.

The Country Age Pension Fuel Card was also introduced in 2009. More than 45,000 pensioners have accessed the scheme each year.