2024-Is the AGL Seniors Saver Plan a Good Deal?

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

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The AGL Seniors Saver Plan

The AGL Seniors Saver Plan is promoted as a special deal for Seniors Card Holders. In this article we analyse if the AGL Seniors Plan is a good deal for seniors in Victoria, NSW, Queensland and SA.

In NSW, Vic and Qld the AGL Seniors Offer is sponsored by the State Governments. The Victorian Government ceased sponsorship in 2019, but recommenced again tin 2021 and to add to the confusion, also sponsor Energy Australia and Simply Energy.

With Government support it must be a great deal, right? Read on to find out if it really is a good deal or not.

Did you know that AGL pay State Governments in NSW, Qld and Victoria for their sponsorship of the AGL Seniors Discount Plan? It’s wise to be suspicious about any special discount from an Energy Company even when it is sponsored by the Government. We dug a bit deeper and found that AGL also pay inducements to seniors organisations (e.g. OverSixty) to promote their offer.

Are you still confidant it is a good deal for you? You guessed it, now read on to get the facts.

How we compared the AGL Seniors Saver Plan Rates

We applied average usage for a 3 people household as per the Government website in different towns across the 4 States. For Victoria, NSW and SA we show electricity and gas, while for Queensland we show electricity only as gas is less common in QLD.

It’s easy to be mislead finding out how much you can save, Energy Made Easy and Victorian Energy Compare show a up front credit of $25 for each fuel. However that is only correct if you an AGL customer on a different plan or if if you are switching for gas. If you are switching for electricity you get an additional new electricity customer signup credit of $175. This information is buried deep in the AGL website available only to the highly dedicated!

Our period of comparison is a single year. Our primary analysis is of the underlying Seniors Saver Plan Rates. We also show the effect of the $25 incentive credit in the tables below.

Sounding to be a good deal can be different from being a good deal. We need to know if AGL have just pushed up their rates in order to fund the cash credits.

Summary of results

The AGL Seniors Plus Plan Rates offer an expensive way to get your electricity or gas. Over the 4 States, it costs $310 more than the cheapest price.
In the 3 States where it is sponsored by the State Governments, Victoria, NSW and Queensland, it costs $360 more than the cheapest price.

As the incentives are up front there could be a case for switching to AGL for sufficient time to exhaust the credits and then switch to the cheapest supplier after that. If you could be bothered, it could help defray those bills. If you are considering switching to the AGL Seniors Saver plan, we suggest just switch your electricity until your credit runs out in 2 or 3 months then switch again to the cheapest plan at that time.

Governments need to stop exploiting Seniors

Alan Rattray, the founder of Energy Umpire said
“AGL have been duping Seniors card holders for years. While many of us expect that of Energy Companies, what is really disappointing is that the Governments of Victoria, NSW and QLD endorse the poor value AGL Seniors Plan.”

Get the Cheapest price for Seniors

Check the results for your State below. But if you just want the cheapest price go to Energy Umpire now. We compare all energy plans and calculate how much you could save. Most importantly, Energy Umpire does not take commissions or inducements of any kind from energy companies. It’s free to find out how much you could save and our charges start at $10 to get the cheapest price. It’s easy and quick to check your savings and switch. Ready to check how much you can save? It’s quick and easy and unlike the Governments, independent.

How much can I save per year?

AGL Seniors Plan Vic

The Victorian Government has a history of sponsoring AGL and receiving a commission from AGL for its support. Three years ago we began a campaign to expose the behaviour of AGL and the State Government (AGL may be a Proud Senior but are they Over the Hill?).  We showed that a customer in Warrnambool was paying from $274 more for electricity and gas than they should be.

Then two years ago we stepped up our campaign (Victorian Government & AGL Seniors Card Offer dupes Seniors) because the AGL Seniors Plan Vic had become outrageously expensive. We showed that customers were paying from $434 to $598 more for electricity and gas than they could be across 5 towns in Victoria.

Finally we got a win for Seniors and the Victorian Government stopped sponsoring the AGL Seniors Plan Vic. Undeterred, AGL continued to promote their sub-standard offer to Seniors.

Unfortunately for Seniors, in 2021 the Government are again promoting an inferior AGL Seniors plan. Why pay customers a $50 bill busting bonus to use their comparison site. Or more recently pay Householders a bonus of $250 to visit Victorian Energy Compare and complete a form.

Just by switching to the cheapest plan, most of these card holders could save much more, at no cost to the State.

AGL Seniors Plan Vic across 5 towns

Seniors in 5 towns in Victoria could save $336/year more on their electricity alone by instead choosing the cheapest provider. On gas, the savings were $231. Overall savings are $567. Nowhere was the AGL Seniors Plan the cheapest.
Even after allowing for the $50 incentive, over 12 months the Senior would be better off by $517.

AGL Seniors Saver Plan NSW

Seniors have a right to expect that the AGL Seniors Plus Plan is highly attractive, especially being sponsored by the NSW State Government. The Sydney Morning Herald questioned why the government of NSW provided a ‘new marketing arm’ to AGL.

Seniors in NSW could save $165 pa on electricity alone if they switched to the cheapest provider instead of AGL. After the AGL credit of $25 per account, the AGL Seniors Plan NSW is still $137 more over a year. One could well ask why is the NSW Government supporting such a second rate energy plan?

AGL Seniors Saver Plan in Queensland

Seniors have a right to expect that the AGL Seniors Plus Plan is highly attractive, especially being sponsored by the Qld State Government.

The AGL Senior Plan QLD sounds promising. We found that seniors in QLD would still pay $162/year more on electricity by instead choosing the cheapest provider. On gas, the saving is $281. Even after the AGL 2X$25 sign up credits, Seniors would pay an extra $137 and $256, on electricity and gas, respectively, compared with the cheapest rates.

AGL Seniors Saver Plan SA

Seniors in South Australia would be disappointed that AGL seniors plan SA offers the poorest incentive for Seniors of all States.

Seniors on the AGL Seniors Plan SA pay $345 more than the cheapest plan in SA even after $50 Sign up credit, including gas as well as electricity. It’s extraordinary that AGL could put their name to such an appallingly expensive plan.

• AGL may be a Proud Senior but are they Over the Hill?
• Victorian Government & AGL Seniors Card Offer dupes Seniors.
• AGL Electricity: Will the Bill Change?
• Power Blackout due to AGL in NSW in 2022?
• Australian Government Targets National Energy Guarantee