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http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/retirement-age-rise-to-70-by-2035-joe-hockey-announces-20140502-zr318.html

Australians born after 1965 will have to work until they are 70 before they are eligible for the age pension, Treasurer Joe Hockey has announced, as he warned there was "no such thing" as a free visit to a doctor or free welfare.

Mr Hockey confirmed on Friday that while nobody currently on the pension would be hit by a rise in the pension age, the Abbott government would raise the retirement age in coming years.

The Treasurer called on the Labor opposition to offer bipartisan support for the move.

In what is expected to be his final major speech before handing down his first federal budget on May 13, Mr Hockey said the Coalition would deliver a document that is "not going to be an austerity budget, but it is going to be a prudent budget" which would prepare Australia for the demographic challenges posed by an ageing population.

"What we are going to do is to deliver a fairer system for the aged pension that is going to focus on the sustainability of the system with a reasonable quality of life. The aged pension expenditure today is currently more than we spend on defence,'' he said.

"It's rising to $72 billion rapidly, that's over 6 per cent growth. One of the reasons why is because we're ageing … but the pension kicks in currently at 65. When Labor increased it to 67 by 2023 we gave them bipartisan support. When we introduce legislation to increase it to 70 by July 2035, ... we expect that there will be bipartisan support."

"The aged pension needs to be a safety net by 2035, not a cargo net."