Work life about to get longer

From July 1, the qualification age for the age pension will rise from 65 years to 65 years and 6 months – the first of four biennial increases that will see the eligibility age rise to 67 by July 2023.

The federal government says the increase will help Australia meet the challenges of an ageing population by encouraging more people to stay in work and contribute to the economy.

However, according to the Australian Association of Gerontology, the majority of Australian adults are opposed to the change.

Research conducted at the Australian National University Centre for Research on Ageing found 56 per cent of people were opposed to increasing the eligibility age, slightly down on 59 per cent in 2009-10.

Opposition was especially strong among those more likely to have to depend on the pension: women, non-homeowners, those in lower-paid occupations and those with relatively poor self-rated health.

Support for increasing the age was higher among people aged 65-plus and those who were retired, as well as people with a tertiary education or a higher-level occupation.

Council on the Ageing chief executive Ian Yates said the proposal to raise the pension eligibility age to 67 – the same as a significant number of European countries (the UK is going to 68) – went back to the Rudd government in 2009.

He said the government should be doing more with business and industry to speed up improvements in physically challenging occupations to make them safer and less physically stressful. Mature age unemployment should also be addressed.

“It is unarguable that Newstart should be increased and the stringent assets test waived for people within 10 years of pension age,” he said.

The age pension was set at eight years after the average life expectancy of 57 years when it was introduced in 1909.

Now it is set at 18 years before the average life expectancy of 83.

Over the next 40 years the number of people aged 65 and over will more than double to 8.9 million, and the number of people supporting every person over 65 will drop from 4.5 to 2.7.