A record 760,000 Australians aged 65 and over are in the workforce, with the Coalition claiming the figures show older people are being forced to work for longer due to cost-of-living pressures. Source: The Australian.
The average number of older Australians working in the year to October is the highest since records began in 1995, up nearly 20 per cent since Labor was elected in 2022.
While one contributing factor was likely the pension increasing from 65 to 67 in 2023 – a decision of the Rudd Government in 2009 – Opposition assistant cost-of-living spokesman Dean Smith argued it was because of “financial stress caused by Labor’s failure to manage inflation and the economy”.
“These are the numbers everybody needs to see: hundreds of thousands of older Australians delaying retirement because it is the only way they can survive financially,” Senator Smith said.
“Rising inflation, soaring housing costs and mounting interest rates under the Albanese Government are destroying the retirement plans of a record number of Australians, robbing them of the dignity and security they deserve at this time in their lives.”
The number of over-65s in the workforce has risen by 27 per cent in Victoria since the Albanese Government was elected, while it has risen by 22 per cent to 243,000 in NSW.
Council on the Ageing chief executive Patricia Sparrow said “older Australians are steadily increasing their labour force involvement and remaining in employment longer”.
“For many, continuing in paid work reflects a desire to remain engaged,” Ms Sparrow said.
For others, it is driven by financial necessity in the midst of cost-of-living pressures, particularly for those paying off a mortgage or renting.
“But involuntary retirement remains common. One in three older Australians retired earlier than planned, most often due to poor health or redundancy.”
Independent economist Saul Eslake said he was not convinced the main reason older people were increasingly in the workforce was the cost of living.
“One thing is that the pension age has been pushed back … that was phased in over a 10-year period so that would have obviously been a factor,” Mr Eslake said.
He said there were “certainly some” older people working when they would rather be retired – but I would suspect they would be a minority.”
FULL STORY
Retirement plans ‘destroyed’, Coalition claims, as record number of older Australians stay in work (By Greg Brown, The Australian)
