SA to cover pensioner concessions

More than 200,000 pensioner households in South Australia will get a concession payment to help cover the cost of rates, water and utility bills, ending long-running uncertainty over the future of the assistance.

The state government has extended payments to renters as well as home owners after moving to fill the void left when the federal government axed pensioner concessions in last year's budget.

Under the new deal eligible home owners will be paid $200 a year while pensioners who are renting will get $100.

That will add 45,000 households to the number receiving help taking the total to 205,000.

But about 20,000 self-funded retirees will no longer be eligible for assistance in a scheme that will cost the government $36.5 million a year, more than the $30 million in concessions axed by the commonwealth.

"As a result of this reform, more South Australian pensioners will be better off," Premier Jay Weatherill said on Thursday.

Council on the Ageing (COTA) state chief executive Jane Mussared said the government's program would end the uncertainty for pensioners that began when the federal government first announced the cuts last year.

She also welcomed the flexible approach, allowing pensioners to decided what they used the money for.

South Australian Council of Social Service executive director Ross Womersley said the concessions would make a difference for those doing it tough.

"The most vulnerable people will be getting extra money in their pockets," he said.

Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis said details on how the government would fund the scheme would be announced in next month's state budget.