"Entitled" widow sparks outrage over age pension question
An elderly widow has been slammed for writing in to a financial column asking for advice, despite being very well-off.
The 88-year-old (NOT pictured here) wrote in to Nine newspapers’ columnist Noel Whittaker asking for advice on how to access a pension after the death of her husband.
“My husband and I received a part pension but he passed away and I now have all the assets but no pension,” she wrote to Whittaker’s Ask Noel column.
“I am 88 and own my own home. I have $680,000 in savings and $180,000 in shares. My income is $25,000 p.a. is there anything I can do to get a part pension?”
While the question seemed innocent enough, many Aussies were infuriated by the woman's query, sparking outrage on social media.
One person pointed out how well off the woman was, mockingly saying, "We have $1m in assets. Can we get the age pension?”
Another person wrote, “Lady you’re 88, where are you getting 25k per year if not investments? You’ll be fine, Karen.”
The pile-on continued, with plenty more slamming the woman for being “entitled”, greedy, and mocking her for wanting even more money than she already had to spend over her remaining years.
One person added, “How much longer does this person think they’re going to live that they need more than $1 million …”
Another person offered their own advice if the last needed more money, encouraging her to use her $680,000 savings, saying "That's what it's there for."
Another person summed it up by writing, “The problem with old people these days is they’re too entitled. Back in my day, old people reused their tea bags and were grateful.”
Many even commented that the question was the exact kind of “fake” submission dreamt up for columnists to “enrage readers”, and someone posed their own mock question to Whittaker to point out how ludicrous the woman's question was.
“I own my own home, have 6 million ingots in assets, and my income is several gold bullion per month. I am 300 years old. I am a fire-breathing dragon. Can I claim the part pension?” they wrote.
Image credits: Getty Images