The Conversation
Older and poorer: Retirement Income Review can’t ignore the changing role of home
The assumption that retired people have minimal housing costs underpins the settings of our retirement incomes system. But the real state of housing for older Australians today makes it critical for the Retirement Incomes Review to look at the evidence that now challenges this assumption.
2020
400,000 women over 45 are at risk of homelessness in Australia
Older women have been recognised as the fastest-growing group of homeless people in Australia in recent years. Yet until now we have not known exactly how many older women are at risk of homelessness.
Older people are generally considered to be at less risk of homelessness because of their higher rates of home ownership.
2020
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‘Uprooting, no matter how small a plant you are, is a trauma’: older women renters are struggling
Older women renters are struggling in an insecure and unaffordable rental housing market. A combination of high rents and low incomes leaves many living in substandard housing and unable to afford necessities like food and energy bills.
Rrent increases further stress household budgets, and evictions magnify these risks. COVID-19 makes the need for reform even more urgent.
2020
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‘Ageing in neighbourhood’: what seniors want instead of retirement villages and how to achieve it
As we age, most people prefer to stay in their own homes and communities instead of moving to retirement villages. Some have gone so far as to say retirement villages have had their day. What’s needed instead is adaptable housing and neighbourhoods to help people as they move through life’s stages.
Are the days of the retirement village numbered?
2020
Retire the retirement village – the wall and what’s behind it is so 2020
An article examining the results of a study into an ageing Australian society. The Longevity by Design Challenge brought new perspectives to preparing and adapting Australian cities to capitalise on the “longevity” phenomenon over coming decades.
2020
Why more older Australians are living in shared housing
An increasing number of older Australians are living in share housing. A relatively new group to emerge on the share-housing scene, they are choosing to share for financial reasons, but finding unexpected social benefits.
Share housing across all age groups shows it’s mainly driven by financial constraints. In older age, the experience of this is gendered.
2019
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Fall in ageing Australians’ home-ownership rates looms as seismic shock for housing policy
Outright home ownership has long been regarded as a supporting pillar of Australian retirement incomes policies. Increasingly, concerns that rising mortgage debt and falling home ownership rates in later life are undermining the role of home ownership in supporting retirees’ financial wellbeing.
2019
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We’re delaying major life events, and our retirement income system hasn’t caught up
An article looking at the need to conduct an independent review of Australia’s retirement income system, in view of the fact that old age Australian renters have some of the worst relative poverty rates in the OECD.
2019
Vertical retirement villages are on the rise, and they’re high-tech too
For good quality of life as one ages, there must be optimal retirement options. The default is to stay in one’s current home for as long as possible, or downsize. Some will settle into the quiet life of a retirement village on the urban fringes.
2018
Why older Australians don’t downsize and the limits to what the government can do about it
Encouraging senior Australians to downsize their homes is one of the more popular ideas to make housing more affordable. The trouble is, incentives for downsizing would hit the budget, but make little difference to housing affordability. This article looks at government incentives that could release housing stock without financially penalising older home owners.
2017
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"There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort."