Entering the era of “ageing”

Could it be the curse of the 65-year-olds? The latest research by Australia’s leading future forecaster, Bernard Salt shows that in 200, 40,000 Australians turned 65. By 2015, this number has swelled to 120,000, a 200 per cent increase that is still increasing every year.

For Mr Salt from KPMG, the conclusion is straightforward: “We are embarking on an era of ageing,” he says. Our country has never had so many people at one time who are going past the traditional retirement age – and heading towards ‘old age’.

So will this be a burden on our already-struggling economy? The influential futurist says not, in the short term at least.

In good news for employment, health care jobs, especially in aged care, will be the fastest growing sector in Australia. With the Baby boomer generation also a lot less likely to retire these days, there will be 320,000 more people over 65 in the workforce than in 2000.

This is great for our economy, with more taxes being paid and less people drawing on the Age Pension to support them financially.

However, Mr Salt also had another graph that demonstrated the effect in 15 years from now when all these 65-year-olds are turning 85 and the consequences are huge.

Called “The real pressure on ageing”, it reveals that many of those 85 plus people will stand a good chance of living to 100, while the 30-year-olds of today’s Generation Y will be hitting 45 and likely paying taxes to support older Australians for 20 years until they reach 65 themselves.

Is this the true curse of the 65-year-olds?