Two in three retirees who rent privately owned homes live in poverty and the problem will get worse, a new report has found. Source: The Guardian.
Most older working Australians who rent do not have sufficient savings to keep paying rent in their retirement, according to the report from the Grattan Institute.
More than half of households aged 65 and older who rent report a total net financial worth of less than $25,000, compared with just 6 per cent of homeowner households of that age.
Grattan’s Brendan Coates said Australia was failing too many retirees who rent.
“The report really identifies that while most retirees are doing pretty well – they’re actually more financially comfortable than many working-age Australians – it’s retirees who rent who are really struggling,” Mr Coates said. “And they’re in a lot of strife.”
There are more than 200,000 retired Australian households renting in the private market, of which 67 per cent are living in poverty. Poverty rates among single men and single women are even higher, at 74 per cent and 78 per cent respectively.
Between 1981 and 2021, home ownership rates among the poorest 40 per cent of 45- to 54-year-olds fell from 68 per cent to 54 per cent.
Mr Coates said this number would continue to dive. “This problem is going to get worse,” he said.
“Home ownership is falling, and it’s falling fast. Today’s older renters who are in work are tomorrow’s renting retirees.
“We’re going to see more people renting in future, and many renters are not on track to have enough savings through their super to cover the cost of rent.”
Mr Coates called on the federal Government to lift Commonwealth rent assistance, which supplements the age pension for less well-off retirees who rent.
The Government has lifted the maximum rate of rent assistance (now $211.20 for singles) by 27 per cent – over and above inflation – in the past two budgets.
But even after these increases, a single retiree who relies solely on income support can afford to rent only 4 per cent of one-bedroom homes in Sydney, 13 per cent in Brisbane, and 14 per cent in Melbourne.
FULL STORY
Retirees who rent ‘really struggling’ financially, researchers say – and the problem is getting worse (By Cait Kelly, The Guardian)
