Fairfax
Why more retirees are still paying off mortgages
Big numbers of Australian Baby Boomers are now entering retirement with a mortgage. The proportion of homeowners who still have a mortgage at the point of retirement in 2016 surged 23 per cent in a decade to 36 per cent. Generation X are also heading towards retirement with mortgage debt.
This article examines the reasons behind this phenomenon.
2020
Themes:
Trapped inside: Why social-housing apartments need an urgent revamp
A redesign and renovation of social-housing apartments across Australian cities is desperately needed to ensure older women with mobility issues are not trapped inside their homes.
During this Covid-19 isolation period, it has become apparent how inappropriate some social housing has become for older and disabled women.
2020
Themes:
'Having to ask for somewhere to live, it's difficult indeed': Single, female, homeless. Australia's shameful crisis
Older women are the fastest-growing cohort of homeless people in Australia today. According to census data, the number of women aged 65 to 74 describing themselves as homeless increased by 51 per cent in the five years to 2016.
2020
Women over 55 are Australia's fastest growing group of homeless
An introduction service for flatmates, converting family homes into partly self-contained apartments and building community-funded homeless shelters are among new attempts to help older Australian women find secure housing.
Women over 55 are the fastest growing group of homeless people in Australia, though men and younger people are much more likely to be homeless, 2016 census data shows.
2019
The downsizing cost traps awaiting Australian retirees – here are five reasons to be wary
This article debunks the myth of zero housing costs in retirement.
The concept of zero housing costs in retirement is based on a 1940s view of a well-maintained, single dwelling on a single allotment of land where the mortgage has been paid off.
2017
Themes:
Housing costs force Queensland’s age pensioners into poverty
Queensland couples who rely on the age pension and rent in the private market are at the greatest risk of living in poverty compared to other seniors.
2017
Housing affordability stand-out issue for seniors' wellbeing
Housing affordability is the single most important factor in determining older people’s wellbeing, according to an Australian study.
The Index of Wellbeing for Older Australians discovered there are large concentrations of over 65s experiencing low wellbeing on the fringes of major cities compared to inner-city areas but also found that housing affordability was the stand-out issue.
The Index ma
2016
Themes:
"There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort."