Peter is 66 years old and considers himself lucky to still be in fulltime work.

However he knows all too well the issues older people face trying to find work after they turn 50.

As a single person paying commercial rent, Peter has no option but to keep working because the aged pension wouldn’t even cover his rent.

Also, like so many others, Peter suffered a loss in his superannuation fund.

“I do feel for young people who are not able to find work in this economic climate but I’ve experienced age-discrimination myself over the years – especially after I turned 50,’’ Peter said.

“It was always cited as my being ‘over-qualified’ but I was prepared to work at a job requiring a much lower level of expertise with much less money just to have a job.

“I managed to convince a couple of employers that they were getting 100% expertise for 50% money and built up again from there.”

However, others aren’t so lucky.

Many experience ongoing unemployment, some for as long as 15 years despite actively looking for work.

National Seniors is calling on the both major parties to address the issue of mature age discrimination ahead of the election.