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Older get richer
Australians aged 55 and up are at the top of the heap and getting even wealthier.
By Dallas Bastian
Australians aged 55 – 64 represent the wealthiest households in Australia, while those over 65 have experienced the fastest growth in household wealth, a longitudinal study has found.
The Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia( HILDA) Report found that prior to 2014, the median wealth of people aged 65 and over was less than that of those aged 45 – 54, but by 2014 the former age group had overtaken the latter.
“ This reflects the very strong growth in median wealth between 2002 and 2014 for the 65 and over age group, with the median increasing by 61.2 per cent,” the report stated.“ Growth was also strong for the 55 – 64 age group( 39.1 per cent), but much weaker for the younger age groups.”
The HILDA study commenced in 2001. Each year, researchers interview about 17,000 Australians to create a picture of the nation, spanning topics that include household finances, employment, family life and health.
Report author professor Roger Wilkins, from the University of Melbourne, said older generations benefited from the large increases in house values, while the high cost of real estate was putting pressure on the younger generations.
“ Between 2001 and 2014, owner occupied houses have declined by 3.5 percentage points. That translates to 700,000 Australian homes,” Wilkins said.“ It is likely that in the next few years less than half of adults will be homeowners.”
But younger Australians may be making the most of their parents’ wealthier households, or at least their wealth of free time.
HILDA researchers found that grandparents continue to be an important source of childcare, and found a surge in lone parents turning to grandparents for help, rising from 16.6 per cent in 2008 to 27.5 percent in 2014.
The report also stated that nearly a quarter of couple families with children aged under 13 regularly use grandparents for childcare. The children of lone parents spent an average of 24 hours a week being cared for by their grandparents, while couples relied on grandparents for about 15 hours of childcare a week.
In a previous HILDA survey, researchers asked grandparents about the extent to which they take care of their grandchildren.
The report found grandparents who provide care are more likely to be female, are considerably younger, are more likely to be partnered, are less likely to have a disability and have better average general health.
“ They also have higher average incomes and are more likely to be employed( in paid work), which possibly reflects their lower average age,” the report stated. ■
12 agedcareinsite. com. au