Pensioner finds cheaper life in Thailand after rent squeeze

Peter Stevenson has gone from living in a one-room converted shipping container in Victoria's Yarra Valley to an air-conditioned two-bedroom home on Phuket Island.

Mr Stevenson has found he can afford to live well in Thailand on his age pension.

But it was a different story five years ago when he was spending half of his fortnightly income on rent in Australia.

The rest went towards utilities and a shrinking food budget.

"I didn't have a life,"

Mr Stevenson said.

"I went down to 65, 70 kilograms from 83," he said.

Australia's retirement system was designed at a time when home ownership rates were high.

For those who have paid off their homes but do not have much superannuation, the age pension provides an income to cover food, electricity and general living expenses.

But for renters, the situation has become increasingly difficult.

Since the pandemic, rents have risen across the country.

In regional Victoria, where Mr Stevenson was living, median rents grew by 36.4 per cent between 2012 and 2024.

A 'happy' life in Thailand

Mr Stevenson's life in Thailand today is very different to "just existing" on his pension in Australia, he says.

"I'm happy here."

Mr Stevenson is living in Thailand on a retirement visa, which allows someone over the age of 50 to live but not work in the country, and he still receives his Australian pension.

He has a partner and a little dog.

The difference in cost of living means he can afford to go out for coffee or visit other parts of the island.

"In Australia it costs me $10 to open the door of a taxi, here it costs me $2 to travel anywhere on Phuket Island,"

he said.

He has gone from paying $1,120 per month on rent to $400 per month.

And while Mr Stevenson is no longer receiving government Rent Assistance because he is living overseas, he is managing to make ends meet, even saving a small amount of money.

The only drawback, he said, is that health insurance in Thailand is expensive.

"If I have a serious accident, I'm a dead man walking and that's the risk,"

Mr Stevenson said.

But he said going back to Australia would be a struggle.

"If I went home, I would be homeless."

Pensioners shouldn't have to leave Australia, peak body says

National Seniors Australia (NSA) chief executive Chris Grice said Australians should not have to leave the country to improve their quality of life.

"We're better than that and the government needs to take into account their policy decisions that these sorts of stories and these sorts of people are being impacted by cost of living on a daily basis," he said.

People on the Age Pension, Disability Pension, JobSeeker payment or another support payments are entitled to Rent Assistance.

The maximum rate of Rent Assistance went up by 15 per cent in September 2023 and increased again by 10 per cent in September 2024.

These increases were on top of regular indexation, which happens twice a year.

For a single age pensioner, Rent Assistance is currently set at a maximum of $219.40 a fortnight

In most Australian states, the median weekly rent is above $500 per week.

"The gap is quite substantial and from our perspective, what we've seen so far is very little support in terms of making that situation better for older Australians," Mr Grice said.

"Rent Assistance is not putting a dent in supporting folk who are vulnerable,"

he said.

Renters living in poverty

A study by the Grattan Institute last year found that even after government boosts to Rent Assistance, two-thirds of pensioners who rent in the private market are living in poverty.

"The numbers are pretty stark," said the institute's Ashleigh Chang.

She said the problem was likely to get worse as home ownership rates amongst the poorest Australians continued to fall.

According to the Grattan report, between 1981 and 2021, home ownership rates amongst the poorest 40 per cent of 45–54-year-olds fell from 68 per cent to 54 per cent.

"The share of those retirees who will be struggling, we expect to grow," Ms Chang said.

The Grattan Institute is calling for the federal government to increase Rent Assistance by 50 per cent for singles and 40 per cent for couples.

Currently, Rent Assistance rises are indexed against overall CPI (Consumer Price Index).

The institute instead wants it indexed to changes in rents for the cheapest 25 per cent of homes in capital cities.

It is estimated that would cost the federal budget about $2 billion a year.

A spokesperson for Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek said Commonwealth Rent Assistance had increased more than 50 per cent since Labor won government.

"This means that someone paying $400 a week in rent is $1,900 a year better off than when we came to government," the spokesperson said in a statement.

"This is on top of big increases to their main payment."