The cost of living is a potent phrase much used, and ...

Being 50 and up in Australia today

An investigation into the Cost of Living Pressures

for the Over-50's in Australia

September 2015

Message from Christopher Zinn

The cost of living is a potent phrase much used, and abused, by the media, by politicians and by ourselves usually in reference to its inexorable upwards spiral.

It is also measured by various techniques to analyse prices, such as our Consumer Price Index, all of which are subject to speculation and economic policy.

In this campaign we've sought to take the cost of living away from the pundits and politicians and give it to the people.

We've challenged the authority of the statistician, who can crunch so many numbers for a living in remote offices and listened to the grass roots view from those who face these costs in real life.

We wanted to give a real voice to all those who cry out in despair whenever they see others claim cost of living pressures are somehow `easing off.'

About 20,000 members of the FiftyUp club heeded the call to share their time, their budgets and their concerns about work and income, super and retirement and finance and taxes.

They identified by a country mile the bill which caused the most pain, ironically it is private health insurance, and also ranked the strain caused by other essential services.

They also provided a rich tapestry of comments, ideas and even policies numbering in the thousands which along with the survey results we shall take to Canberra and present to decision-makers.

A big thanks to senior producer of the FiftyUp Club Jackie Levett for so much of the work and also to all of those who took the time to ensure their feelings about cost of living pressures are heard. I salute you.

About the FiftyUp Club

The FiftyUp Club is a consumer network advocating for Australians aged 50 and over nation-wide.

Well-respected consumer advocate Christopher Zinn is the spokesperson for the club.

The Club also uses the combined buying power of more than 130,000 members to work with providers of essential household goods and services to unlock improved value for its members.

The Fair Go for FiftyUps campaign

The Fair Go for FiftyUps campaign was launched to gauge the national mood around how older Australians are affected by rising costs and which government policies can help. 19,866 Australians have joined the campaign, with 56% of respondents from NSW and 28% from QLD followed by VIC (11%) and smaller numbers in ACT, NT, WA, SA, and TAS.

How many over 50s are in Australia today?

State/Territory ACT NSW NT QLD SA TAS VIC WA Grand Total

Total 1%

56% 0%

28% 1% 0% 11% 2%

100%

According to the last ABS Census in 2011, 1 in 3 of the 21 million Australians were over the age of 50 . In 2015, the population has grown to 23.7 million, meaning there are roughly 8 million over 50s in Australia today .

Survey reliability

Source: ABS 2011 Census data

The survey was taken of the existing pool of 130,000 members of the FiftyUp Club. The level of statistical reliability is dependant upon the sample size and the size of the population. The confidence level of this sample size was set at 99% with a Population Size of 8 million over 50s in Australia. The required sample size for a random survey would be just 664 people . This campaign questioned 20,000 people and exceeded the test for statistical validity.

1 ABS (2011) 2011 Census, QuickStats quickstat/0

2 ABS (2015) Australia experiences lowest population growth in almost a decade http:// .au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/3101.0Media%20Release1Mar%20 2015?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=3101.0&issue=Mar%202015&num=&view=

3 National Statistical Service (2015), Sample Size Calculator Sample+size+calculator

Work and income

Older Australians are dependant on the aged pension, or will be. Three out of four

respondents (75%) were either on a full or part-pension or expected to draw on one in

the future. Equally, 75% think the pension is not adequate/not quite enough or totally

On a pension or expect to draw on a pension

inadequate and a `joke'. Only 24% responded that the pension was adequate to meet their retirement

No I don't

Other, 1.98%

needs and just 1% said it was more than adequate.

extpect to draw a

The children have moved out. The over 50's are

pension, 9.62%

mostly free from children living at home with 76%

not having any children living with them. 14% have

No I'm self-funded

Yes I expect to draw a full pension in future, 21.76%

one child living at home, 8% have 2 children living at home, 2% with 3 children and 1% with four or more.

retiree, 14.17%

Yes I'm on a full pension,

15.55%

Yes I expect to draw a part-time pension in future,

18.99%

Most do not need to care for grandchildren or parents. 72% of respondents did not need to provide financial assistance or care to grandchildren or parents, with only 1 in 10 spending 5 ? 12 hours a week caring for family members.

Yes I'm on a part-pension, 17.93%

Older Australians are notably content with their employment status. 61% responded that they are

happy with their employment and it's about right

for this time in their life. Although 65% have never

been discriminated against at work due to their age, almost 1 in 5 have experienced this

behaviour. The FiftyUp Club still considers this ratio too high.

Many older Australians would like to continue contributing to the workforce after they reach the age of 65.

Two out of three respondents would continue working after 65 for one of the following;

? lower income tax rates; ? more part-time opportunities; ? jobs specifically designed for older workers; ? or the opportunity to mentor younger workers.

Superannuation and retirement incomes

With superannuation not being compulsory in their day, most over 50's have not

saved enough for retirement. Only 15% have saved enough superannuation and think

they will be comfortable in retirement. The majority responded that superannuation was

not compulsory in their day and they haven't saved enough (47%), another 11% said that

they hadn't saved enough but they hoped

How much superannuation will/have over 50s retired on?

to win lotto and 27% responded that they

didn't know and it was hard to predict the

More than $2m, 0.89%

$1.5-$2m, 1.42%

unexpected expenses they might face.

Less than $100,000, 33.32%

$100,000-$300,000, 29.69%

Almost 2 out of 3 Australians have or will retire on $300,000 or less. Only 6.2% of older Australians had over $1 million dollars in the kitty for their retirement, however this doesn't take into account other assets and pensions that could add to retirement income.

$600,000$999,999,

29.69%

$300,000-$600,000, 18.90%

$1-$1.5m, 4.74%

Two out of three over 50's have their superannuation in a industry superannuation fund (40%) or a retail super fund (25%). 1 in 6 over 50s have their super in a self-managed super fund and the same number don't have any superannuation at all.

Almost half (45%) think tax concessions for people with large super balances should be wound back, however 34% disagree wit this and another 1 in 5 don't know.

The low interest rate environment has been a disaster for half of older Australians with half getting lower interest on their savings. Those without a mortgage and not relying on interest (26%) found the low interest rate environment had no impact on them while 1 in 5 thought it was great because it lowered repayments on their mortgage (21%).

Older Australians understand the complexity of high property prices in the major cities and the shortage of supply in the market, and their responses reflect this. They responded;

? There should be no intervention and we should let the market determine prices (29%);

? Governments should increase supply to put downward pressure on prices (23%); ? Negative gearing should be scaled back or abandoned (18%); ? Governments should give more grants for first-home buyers (12%); ? Encourage them to keep growing, it's good news for owners (8%); and ? My generation needs to share the windfall with our children (5%)

Household bills causing strain

More than 1 in 2 respondents nationwide have had some trouble paying their bills including those who have found themselves in serious financial hardship.

Current level of bill stress

High I usually have trouble paying my bills,

10.02%

Of concern given the growing medical needs as the population ages, almost 1 in 3 Australians over 50 are finding Health Insurance the hardest bill to pay (29%). Not far behind, the essential utility bill, the power bill, is putting strain on older Australians with 1 in 4 finding the electricity bill the hardest bill to pay (22%). Other bills putting pressure on older Australians include council rates (13%), home insurance (8%) and car insurance (5%).

None I pay every bill on time

easily. 41,52%

Mild I sometimes have trouble

paying my bills, 45.72%

At a time when older Australians are trying to save for retirement, 1 in 3 Australians have had to dip into their savings in order the keep up with their bills.

Internet 0.44%

Water

1.25%

Petrol

1.43%

Gas

2.08%

Groceries Mortgage Car Insurance Home Insurance

Rates Other

2.57% 4.47% 4.61% 8.13% 12.60% 11.41%

Electricity

Health Insurance

0%

10%

21.67%

20%

29.25%

30%

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download