Australian retirees are feeling the pinch.

[Swampy]

This is the same theme felt throughout the developed world, and, if it's bad in Australia, which just had a mining boom, think how it must be for Europeans, never mind the Chinese and Japanese.

The boomers and the subsequent generations will NOT be able to retire - they will have to work till they cannot, and that's the way it's going to be.

The sooner we face that, the better.

[Swampy]

Mailmen are working past 65, and this will be the new norm, and rightly so - we'll be living into our 80's, if not 90's, so we should NOT retire for a few decades when we can work.

This will, by the way, help deal with the problem of low population growth.

[Deleted]

I recently watched an audience participation forum on television regarding ageing and expert advice that 100 years is quickly becoming the 80 years average life expectancy, and that 120 years is not many decades away. The oldest participant was 104 years and she said that the secret to her age achievement was that she had not stopped breathing yet. A few of men in their 90s included one who still participates in long distance running events, trains 4 days a week running and 3 days of gymnasium exercises. There was comment regarding how to fund a satisfying retirement for so much longer and if age pensions are sustainable into the future.

Some years ago a friend attended a conference on ageing and how a church group should direct its investment funds. Doctors attending agreed that future hospitals will be mostly doing day surgery with only trauma cases staying for more than a night or two. The consensus of opinion was to create farming communities that were able to provide jobs at various levels of difficulty and cater to most community needs including accommodation from family to single retired to nursing care. Israel Kibbutz style came to my mind.

There was also general discussion on the subject of increasing life span and that there would be a time when 300 to 400 years was achieved by evolution and medical advances.

Obviously humans will need to reinvent how we live our lives, maybe we have in the developed world gone past the point where for most the cost of living and the income potential to pay for it have been exceeded? Therefore the commune must be the next step.

[Deleted]

An Australian example is how housing in major cities has become unaffordable for most people. Many reasons include too slow land release by governments, land development charges by governments too high and also conveyancing costs too high resulting in demand exceeding supply. Add foreign investment, China and Hong Kong buyers are investing to secure their funds and to provide homes for children attending universities.

Also up until the 1960s the average family lived in a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom cottage, probably on a quarter acre block but now that block is 4 and the houses are at least 4 bedroom 2 bathroom and more expensive than the original cottage and land package.

So more young people of today will have less than their parents when they retire. And risk lower or no government age pension.

[Swampy]

You're right on, Prem.

We will be living to 100, if not beyond, and I certainly expect to be working until at least 80, if not 90. And, as of now, the younger generation will have less than their parents' generation, as you said, but the flip side of this is the world's poverty level is rapidly decreasing - extreme poverty has been cut in half, a few years ahead of the UN schedule, and it's set to be cut in half again by 2030 at the latest.

So I'll remain an optimist.

[hornet32]

The people in OZ are in a sort of semi retirement , they like to party around the Barbie , they like to think of the glory days when everyone was a convict and occasionally they might put in a few days of work just to top things off .

[Swampy]

Aug 21, 2013 18:06:51 GMT -5 hornet32 said:

The people in OZ are in a sort of semi retirement , they like to party around the Barbie , they like to think of the glory days when everyone was a convict and occasionally they might put in a few days of work just to top things off .

Party around the Barbie???

[hornet32]

Bar-be-que = Barbie in OZ .

[Sir John]

You have been watching too much of Paul Hogan on TV.