“If I can work until 70 it'll be a miracle”: Outrage over rising Aussie retirement age
People all across Australia have had a strong reaction to the news that they might have to keep working until they’re 70, if new modelling by Macquarie University’s Business School is anything to go by.
According to the model - which takes the nation’s ageing population and declining birth rate into consideration - more people are set to reach pension age, but with fewer people still of working age available to support pensions paid by the state.
As Professor Shang explained, “less people in the working group and more in retirement will make the old age dependency ratio (OADR) higher.
“What this means is there are less working people to support elderly people. And with more elderly people in the population, this will create a burden for the government pension system.”
Results from the group’s study found that in order to maintain the OADR [of 23 per cent], Australia’s pension age should rise to 68 years by 2030, 69 years by 2036, and 70 years by 2050.
The news went down like a lead balloon on social media, with one researcher sharing an article to his Twitter, alongside a scathing - and wholly sarcastic - caption of his own.
“Hey Millennials. Why are you increasingly getting peeved off at the system? Don’t you know how good you have it?” he asked. “You get to spend your life in debt, experiencing life long housing insecurity, and get to retire when you get wheeled into an age care home.”
One user was quick to remark that those behind the big decision should “try and be a Tradie at 70”, with the original tweeter agreeing that “after 50 is a stretch”.
“Successive Federal Governments (as well as the current one) don't seem to be doing much about this problem!” another wrote.
“And we get told we need to re-train to change jobs every 5 years, from a generation who had a ‘Job 4 Life’, Free University and owns all the properties,” one lamented. “We’re also paying their pensions, but we’ll never get a pension, because Superannuation is taken out of our wage also.”
Meanwhile, one pretended to look on ‘the bright side’, with the fed up take that “on the plus side, if we are going to be expected to work until 75 or 80, maybe we can get 45-year mortgages to own a home. And our time outside of work will feel much longer when our commutes are 2 hours each way.”
“I'm turning 40 this year. If I can work until 70 it'll be a miracle,” someone admitted. “I work In a laborious job and have [had] many injuries and one major injury in the last two years.
“My body is already telling me it wants me to stop and find an easier job”.
Images: Getty