topic Re: Boomer's Retirement Starting To Bite in Community Spirit

Boomer's Retirement Starting To Bite

icyfroth — Mon, 28 Oct 2013 00:35:44 GMT

Rightly or wrongly, the baby boomers are often made out to be an economically selfish bunch. Such sweeping claims can only get us so far, but this is a generation that has enjoyed asset price booms, job security and social spending that their kids are unlikely to experience.

So it has been surprising to see the boomers' economic role getting some more positive press lately.

For one, they received some of the credit for a fall in last month's unemployment rate, because more of them have been dropping out of the labour force and into retirement.

The baby boomers are a large cluster of people born between 1946 and 1961, when birth rates skyrocketed around the world.

About 4 million of them were born in Australia, and as more reach retirement age it will unleash big economic changes.

The media's main interest in the jobs market is the unemployment rate, but this tells only part of the story. Another critical issue is the share of the population that is working and paying tax, and the share that is being supported by the taxpayer because they are too old or too young to work. On this front, things are getting more challenging.

Consider the participation rate, the share of the working-age population with a job or looking for one.

Australia's participation rate is now at its lowest level since 2006, at 64.9 per cent, after peaking in 2010. Mechanically, this lowers unemployment, because it means there are fewer people competing for jobs. But if you look a bit deeper, it is not so rosy.

A paper by the ACTU last week confirmed the slide in participation in recent years is the result of the population getting older.

Even though some people over 65 are choosing to keep working, the paper showed Australia's participation rate has nonetheless been dragged down by the growing share of the population that is older, and less likely to work.

Australia's ''old age dependency ratio'' - which compares the number of people over 65 to those of working age - will jump by a quarter between 2010 and 2020 and keep rising thereafter, says Standard & Poor's.

Slowly but surely, the same dynamic is starting to drag on growth in material living standards in most big Western economies.

Re: Boomer's Retirement Starting To Bite

lurker17260 — Mon, 28 Oct 2013 00:43:37 GMT

I'm already retired and have been for over 4 years. Because my OH was a long term public servant his superannuation conditions virtually forced him to retire at 55. We'll be pretty **bleep** off if they change the rules on us now.

Re: Boomer's Retirement Starting To Bite

jean2579 — Mon, 28 Oct 2013 00:48:14 GMT

I am 69 and never wanted to retire. It was made plain t hat I was in an industry that only wanted "young, dynamic, fast paced" participants.

No matter that I had kept right up to date with technology, industry practices and my sales figures were higher than others, the fact still remained that I had ceased to be dynamic.

I have lost count of the number of applications I have submitted, all clearly showing my age as I feel not to include that is not fair to a potential employer. I have not even received an acknowledgement of the receipt of these applications, let alone an interview.

The fact that Workers Comp insurance cuts out at 70 does not help either.

We are constantly bombarded with claims of being a drag on the younger generations, who conveniently seem to forget that when we were working we also supported our parents, a lot of them were single women who had been left widowed as a result of the war.

There are two sides to this story, but only one side seems to get air play.

Re: Boomer's Retirement Starting To Bite

monman12 — Mon, 28 Oct 2013 00:59:36 GMT

Possibly a good topic for DY and LL to blame upon Abbott. There is the history aspect for DY, and whatever media source reporting for LL to diss.

I retired (sort of) at 45, having organised my finances (then and since) so that I would support myself/family with no claimed input from the plethora of social welfare services with a $50 billion budget + annually..

An interesting topic IF, and one that will increasingly be of import as the "grey army" ranks swell, and with the risk of politicising the topic, deferring compulsory superannuation increases is a retrograde step.

nɥºɾ

Re: Boomer's Retirement Starting To Bite

crystal-gems — Mon, 28 Oct 2013 01:48:32 GMT

The 'oldies' have paid their dues via taxation all their long working lives with none of the modern 'loopholes' in the system.

Taxation factored in future pensions.....but was raided into consolidated revenue.

And no superannuation readily available unless they were government employees or had workplace super offered to them.

They are owed......big time.

Let those currently employed feel the pinch like the pensioners did during their working lives.

And no, I am not on a pension.

Re: Boomer's Retirement Starting To Bite

mainecoon1 — Mon, 28 Oct 2013 02:47:30 GMT

Icy I am not sure where the dates in the OP comes from, I am a baby boomer and I was born in 1963, everywhere I have looked on the internet it say the dates for baby boomers is between 1946 and 1964.

I think I am going to be like my Mum she is 76 nearly 77 and has no interest in stopping work, she works 3 days a week from 7.30 to 1pm and loves it. I think I will have to continue working as I can't afford to retire I have just bought a house and have a mortgage until I am 80. I would like to be able to go on a 3 day week but we will have to wait and see if we can afford it closer to the time.

Re: Boomer's Retirement Starting To Bite

lakeland27 — Mon, 28 Oct 2013 02:57:16 GMT

@monman12 wrote:
Possibly a good topic for DY and LL to blame upon Abbott. There is the history aspect for DY, and whatever media source reporting for LL to diss.

I retired (sort of) at 45, having organised my finances (then and since) so that I would support myself/family with no claimed input from the plethora of social welfare services with a $50 billion budget + annually..

An interesting topic IF, and one that will increasingly be of import as the "grey army" ranks swell, and with the risk of politicising the topic, deferring compulsory superannuation increases is a retrograde step.
nɥºɾ

why would i bother. the story isn't a beat- up . it does present you with opportunity to tell us how its done again, and i dont begrudge you the soapbox .

Re: Boomer's Retirement Starting To Bite

newstart2380 — Mon, 28 Oct 2013 04:03:43 GMT

@lakeland27 wrote:
@monman12 wrote:
Possibly a good topic for DY and LL to blame upon Abbott. There is the history aspect for DY, and whatever media source reporting for LL to diss.

I retired (sort of) at 45, having organised my finances (then and since) so that I would support myself/family with no claimed input from the plethora of social welfare services with a $50 billion budget + annually..

An interesting topic IF, and one that will increasingly be of import as the "grey army" ranks swell, and with the risk of politicising the topic, deferring compulsory superannuation increases is a retrograde step.
nɥºɾ

@monman12 wrote:
Possibly a good topic for DY and LL to blame upon Abbott. There is the history aspect for DY, and whatever media source reporting for LL to diss.

I retired (sort of) at 45, having organised my finances (then and since) so that I would support myself/family with no claimed input from the plethora of social welfare services with a $50 billion budget + annually..

An interesting topic IF, and one that will increasingly be of import as the "grey army" ranks swell, and with the risk of politicising the topic, deferring compulsory superannuation increases is a retrograde step.
nɥºɾ

why would i bother. the story isn't a beat- up . it does present you with opportunity to tell us how its done again, and i dont begrudge you the soapbox .

It's amazing, when LL can't dispute a truth he writes dribble

Re: Boomer's Retirement Starting To Bite

lakeland27 — Mon, 28 Oct 2013 04:07:57 GMT

i wish i could answer you properly NS .

Re: Boomer's Retirement Starting To Bite

kengillard — Mon, 28 Oct 2013 04:39:39 GMT

now now boys

Re: Boomer's Retirement Starting To Bite

the_great_she_elephant — Mon, 28 Oct 2013 07:19:13 GMT

Possibly a good topic for DY and LL to blame upon Abbott. There is the history aspect for DY, and whatever media source reporting for LL to diss

I'm disappointed in you, John - I may not agree with all your posts but at least they are usually intelligent and well considered. Stooping to gratuitous provocation does you no favours at all.

It has been known for decades - and should probably have been obvious from the moment the war ended and the returning soldiers set about procreating with such gusto - that this problem would inevitably arise. Hindsight is a great thing though, and trying to pin the blame on any particular Government is a bit pointless..

Re: Boomer's Retirement Starting To Bite

the_hawk* — Sat, 02 Nov 2013 23:42:21 GMT

One has to wonder how much the policies of the day have caused the current problems with a large percentage of the population ageing at the same time.

It wasnt just a jump in birth rates, it was a masive influx of migrants that built this country and the children they brought with them or had after arriving.

http://www.migrationheritage.nsw.gov.au/exhibition/objectsthroughtime-history/1945-1965/