An ageing population - It’s not all doom and gloom

Published 3rd March 2020

Just like you, National Seniors is irked by unhelpful language painting Australia as facing an “ageing crisis” and an “economic time bomb” in debates about the economy.

While life expectancy and fertility rates are important markers used to foretell our future fiscal situation, these statistics shouldn’t be used in isolation. Alone, they paint an unrealistic and negative picture of the economy.

These statistics must be put into context with other variables, including:

• the increasing wealth of retirees
• the contribution of older people to informal care and volunteering
• increased labour market participation among older Australians
• the overall decline in pension spending as a proportion of GDP.

With the Budget and next Intergenerational Report just around the corner, our submission to the Retirement Income Review took the opportunity to counter this hyperbole by investigating some key statistics.

To read the full article, please visit the National Seniors website.

Source:
Unknown Author, 2020, National Seniors Australia (https://nationalseniors.com.au/)