Almost 25 per cent of Australians continue to work beyond retirement age and most cannot get income protection insurance to cover themselves against illness or an accident.

Income protection offered through super funds usually cuts out at 65, although a handful of funds, including HESTA, market policies to members up to the age of 67.

So, people who want or need to work beyond retirement age are put in a predicament: they can continue to work without any protection against illness and workplace accidents or take the less risky option of going onto the aged pension.

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While the major political parties continue to lecture Australians about the need for more of us to work into our 70s, neither has stumped up meaningful reforms that would make staying in the labour force a civilised experience for older workers.

The failure of the Coalition and the Labor parties to address the lack of insurance available to senior workers exposes their fiscally-inspired sermons about building a mature workforce as simply hollow and cynical rhetoric.

The New Daily’s recent examination of workers’ compensation schemes drew many comments from readers who are worried about their respective decisions to keep working.

What our readers are saying

Our story on workers’ compensation from July 23 shocked many of our senior readers who mistakenly believed that their rights to make a work injury claim were the same as workers younger than 65.

Russell Willis, a 70-year-old worker in Darwin, believes Australia’s discriminatory workers’ compensation schemes need to be overhauled if Treasurer Joe Hockey wants to be taken seriously about his push to increase workforce participation.

If you get injured at work over 65, you’re on your own. Photo: Shutterstock

“If the Treasurer or anyone else wants to keep people in the workforce longer, he should get fair dinkum and take practical steps to make it possible,” he says.

“Otherwise, he should shut up.”

Jenni Munro, a 69-year-old worker, says she was “flabbergasted” to learn about the shortcomings of state and federal workers’ compensation schemes.

“It’s being kept so secret while they (the government) dangle various financial carrots encouraging employers to hire and retain the ‘over-50s’,” she says.

“How two-faced is that?”

Most readers who contacted The New Daily highlighted the failure of insurers and super funds to provide income protection for workers above 65.

Peter Newman, a government engineer in Adelaide, said he had approached five insurers and was rejected by all of them.

“This must be addressed if we – as working older Australians – are to continue to contribute to our great country,” he says.

“I’ve raised these issues with my local politicians but their standard response is that they say they’re looking into it.

“And nothing is happening.”

Jenny Pitkin, a teacher from Melbourne, is also nervous about not being able to secure income protection since her super fund, Vision Super, terminated her policy when she turned 65.

“I have a mortgage and if anything happens to me I’m going to be struggling to service the loan,” she says.

“I don’t have enough super to pay off my mortgage, so I have to keep working.”

Vision Super did not respond to our request for an interview to discuss the income protection problem affecting senior members of the fund.

Super funds and insurers stuck in the past

Under current circumstances, this is the best insurance many over-65s can hope for.

The New Daily contacted many super funds but none were prepared to comment on their inability to extend income protection cover to members aged over 65.

At some point the industry will have to act because in 2019 the retirement age for most Australians will rise to 66 and then rise again to 67 in 2023.

They should have taken action a long time ago – because almost one million Australians above the age of 60 are still in the workforce.

The workforce participation rate for older Australians has been rising for more than a decade.

Kim Shaw, principal of Maurice Blackburn’s superannuation and insurance practice, says life insurers and super funds need to be held to account for leaving senior workers exposed to greater risks than younger members of the workforce.

“Politicians and policymakers haven’t thought through the implications of more people having to work through to 67,” she says.

“Politicians need to be acutely aware of the challenges facing older workers and pressure needs to be brought on life insurers and super funds to provide access to income protection.”

Adelaide insurer seizes an opportunity

While big players in the financial services industry do nothing, a small Adelaide-based insurance broker has launched an income protection product tailored for workers aged over 65.

Holdfast Insurance markets income protection through its website.

The product covers workers aged up to 70 against illness and accident for 70 per cent of their weekly income for up to 52 weeks.

Most workers aged over 70 are only able to apply for accident cover.

Holdfast manager John Thompson told The New Daily that standard premiums for a 65-year-old “wouldn’t be much different than the premium paid by workers in their early 60s”.

“It’s not a loaded premium,” he says.

“It depends on the age, weight and wellbeing of the person applying for cover.

“Pre-existing conditions are excluded.”

The Holdfast product is underwritten by a Lloyds’ insurance syndicate in London and applications are usually assessed within 48 hours.

Mr Thompson said he noticed a big gap in the insurance market for senior workers in 2010 and later decided to organise underwriting through the Lloyds market.

“The life insurance industry is living in the past,” he says.

“People are living longer, working longer and the insurance companies haven’t adjusted to that.”

Research undertaken by National Seniors Australia indicates that people over 60 are less likely to make an insurance claim.

“Our claims experience tallies with their finding,” Mr Thompson says.

“When you get older people tend to be more careful.”

*The New Daily does not endorse the Holdfast product but has highlighted the policy because of its unique position in the Australian insurance market.