Average retirement age of Australians

[julzcruz]

I have been following an interesting thread on Cruise Critic for 'Average age of USA retirees' and how the economy has moved the goal post for many with some having to return to the workforce. I know in my situation our original plan was hubby to retire at 60 and myself at 55. (current age is 57 & 52). With he being made redundant 3 years ago and working conditions/pay change we have now to work an additional 5 years to obtain our reasonable lifestyle in retirement. We love to travel overseas each year so I suppose that is our reward for working longer.

[dancinman66]

Aussie age is being upped to 70 soon

But I reckon I'll keep working past that just at reduced rate

Already cruising and travelling how I like by adjusting my work so I'm sort of like retired anyhow. At 48

 

 

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[GUT2407]

The age to get the pension in Australia is going to increase to 70 for those born after the mid 60's but in Australia there is compulsory superannuation so a lot of people will retire well before that, getting a job after 50 is, I understand damn hard. Having said all that I hope to work til at least 80 because I love what I do.

[Mothballs]

I suppose it depends on what type of work you do. My husband and I are both 56 and are hoping to retire at 60 but I have only worked physical jobs firstly as a nurse when we didn't have mechanical lifters so we lifted all the patients and for the past 10 years as a shelf packer in a supermarket. When I'm working in the deodorant and body wash aisles I think to myself that I could work forever but when I'm packing boxes of long life milk and other heavy items I'm ready to retire that night. I only hang in because I love travelling so much.

Regards Elaine.

[icat2000]

The penison age moving to 70 is only for those who are born after 1964 for which I fall in that category.

 

I don't think there going to be a penison around like there is now when I get to 70 because over the next 10 years there is going to be 2 retirees to 1 worker or person paying taxes.

 

Compulsory Super will have to be relied on to fund most people as I think the criteria by the time I get to 70 will be a lot tougher due to the above. There simply won't be enough funds to go around with an ageing population.

 

I can access my super at 60 but my plan is to work until I'm 70 if possible, I have an office type role currently. So key for me is to stash enough away in my super and keep on working as long as possible.

 

I think Compulsory Super is one of the smartest ideas introduced by Keating.

Edited August 6, 2014 by icat2000

[Mothballs]

Also children won't be receiving the inheritances from their deceased parents houses valued over a certain amount of money as the Government have changed a lot of the rules regarding aged care and the payment for services they require. A lot of oldies will start thinking about selling their most valuable asset.

Very easy here in parts of Sydney to have a million dollar house. My mother-in-law died last month.The house had to be valued for probate and for a very old and rundown house the value came in at around 1.1 to 1.2 million.

Regards Elaine.

[GUT2407]

I suppose it depends on what type of work you do. My husband and I are both 56 and are hoping to retire at 60 but I have only worked physical jobs firstly as a nurse when we didn't have mechanical lifters so we lifted all the patients and for the past 10 years as a shelf packer in a supermarket. When I'm working in the deodorant and body wash aisles I think to myself that I could work forever but when I'm packing boxes of long life milk and other heavy items I'm ready to retire that night. I only hang in because I love travelling so much.

Regards Elaine.

 

G'day Mothballs

 

If you're 56 you will qualify for the pension at 60 or 62 I don't think your hubby will till 65 though.

[Mothballs]

G'day Mothballs

 

If you're 56 you will qualify for the pension at 60 or 62 I don't think your hubby will till 65 though.

 

I wish. The Government raised the ages for male and female to 67. I can access my Super now but I have to pay tax on part of it if I do but at the moment unless the rules are changed I will wait until I am 60 when it is tax free.

Regards Elaine.

[possum52]

 

If you're 56 you will qualify for the pension at 60 or 62 I don't think your hubby will till 65 though.

 

That is not correct as you can see below which is from the Federal Govt Human Services website - http://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/services/centrelink/age-pension

 

Age requirements for Age Pension

Your eligibility for Age Pension depends on when you were born.

 

Women born before 1 January 1949 reach qualifying age at 64 and a half, and women born between 1 January 1949 and 30 June 1952 at age 65.

 

Qualifying age for men born before 1 July 1952 is age 65.

 

From 1 July 2017, the qualifying age for Age Pension will increase from 65 years to 65 and a half years. The qualifying age will then rise by six months every two years, reaching 67 by 1 July 2023. See table below.

 

Date of birth Qualifying age at

1 July 1952 to 31 December 1953 65 years and 6 months

1 January 1954 to 30 June 1955 66 years

1 July 1955 to 31 December 1956 66 years and 6 months

From 1 January 1957 67 years

 

My husband will be age wise eligible later this year but I won't be until March 2018.

Edited August 6, 2014 by possum52

[Aussie FF]

I hope I never qualify for the Government Pension.

I told my boss last week, I will be seeing out the rest of this year.

Work is interfering with my cruising.:D

[Blue Elephant]

Every couple of years, the Australian Bureau of Statistics does a survey called "retirement and retirement intentions". It is number 6238 or 6239 in the catalogue at http://www.abs.gov.au .

[dizzy1948]

All this is very interesting - haven't a clue how to go about the pension - but never the less - does anyone know if you can have the age pension if you are at "retirement age" now and your other half is still working full time?

Edited August 6, 2014 by dizzy1948

[GUT2407]

All this is very interesting - haven't a clue how to go about the pension - but never the less - does anyone know if you can have the age pension if you are at "retirement age" now and your other half is still working full time?

 

 

Probably not, it depends on his income but ask centrelink, in fact I think, only think, they have an online calculator.

[By The Bay]

All this is very interesting - haven't a clue how to go about the pension - but never the less - does anyone know if you can have the age pension if you are at "retirement age" now and your other half is still working full time?

Yes, if you qualify.;)

[By The Bay]

All this is very interesting - haven't a clue how to go about the pension - but never the less - does anyone know if you can have the age pension if you are at "retirement age" now and your other half is still working full time?

I read this article the other day, it explains what you are asking. Seehttp://www.yourlifechoices.com.au/news/couples-age-pension-quandary

[dizzy1948]

I read this article the other day, it explains what you are asking. Seehttp://www.yourlifechoices.com.au/news/couples-age-pension-quandary

 

Looks like a little mine field :p For my next RDO I might make an appointment at Centre link and see what the state of play is. Might as well do the research - why not. Thanks to the OP - a timely prompt never hurt anyone. ;)Now my curiosity button has been pushed - I'm on a mission :p I don't intend retiring anytime soon - but never say never. I'll go armed with my paperwork assets, super etc and see what the story is. :D

Edited August 6, 2014 by dizzy1948

[Tara Jane]

Centrelink run seminars for those thinking about retirement in the distant or not too distant future. They are a series of I think 4 covering different aspects. Free and run by the FIS officers think that stands for financial information service or something similar. The seminars are run in different areas all the time. Info is on the website. We went to them last year and the guys running the ones we went to were very good in explaining in plain language. Highly recommend attending.

Blue Elephant how was your cruise on the spirit?????

[cruisine21]

My husband retired just a couple of months ago at the age of 63. I am 57 and only work part-time but didn't get any work shifts this month. We have just booked a 2 week holiday to Tassie next week to celebrate his birthday with a sale airfare. We would not have been able to book a spur of the moment trip if he had been still working.

[dizzy1948]

Centrelink run seminars for those thinking about retirement in the distant or not too distant future. They are a series of I think 4 covering different aspects. Free and run by the FIS officers think that stands for financial information service or something similar. The seminars are run in different areas all the time. Info is on the website. We went to them last year and the guys running the ones we went to were very good in explaining in plain language. Highly recommend attending.

 

Thanks for that info - isn't cruise critic fabulous - what a wealth of knowledge knocking about on these boards :p Sorry for pinching the thread - but thanks all :D

[Pushka]

One thing to remember if on any centrelink pension is to always advise them if on a cruise that touches an overseas port. They will find out and they will penalise for not advising them. One older couple we know didn't and they lost subsidy to their expensive medication and their pension funds for a while. Very stressful for them.

[rkmw]

One thing to remember if on any centrelink pension is to always advise them if on a cruise that touches an overseas port. They will find out and they will penalise for not advising them. One older couple we know didn't and they lost subsidy to their expensive medication and their pension funds for a while. Very stressful for them.

 

we always tell them when we go overseas and they informed us once customs scan your passport they know you have left the country, a lot of people dont inform them but thats their problem

 

you had to tell them when you returned from your trip but its all changed now and you dont have to tell them

[rkmw]

Looks like a little mine field :p For my next RDO I might make an appointment at Centre link and see what the state of play is. Might as well do the research - why not. Thanks to the OP - a timely prompt never hurt anyone. ;)Now my curiosity button has been pushed - I'm on a mission :p I don't intend retiring anytime soon - but never say never. I'll go armed with my paperwork assets, super etc and see what the story is. :D

 

when its time to apply for the age pension they want to know everything and they will ask for your birth certificate and how much money you have so i'd advise taking some out of the bank and hide it before applying for the pension

[woodyren]

I finished up last year after 39 years full time in the rail industry. With the nice little incentive offered by the lovely NSW transport minister I was able to boost my super up to a level that could certainly sustain us BUT would not allow us the take the holidays that we plan to take.

 

Most of my early working days were spent in lower paid positions but in the last 15 years both my salary and work experience/conditions improved substantially. I now work part time with a few employers that contract to the rail industry doing a range of jobs. I am lucky that each employer is willing to keep me on their books with the understanding that I will take off for a month or two at a time at least twice each year.

 

So I am almost 60 and plan to keep this work/travel balance going for as long as my health permits. I consider myself very fortunate. To be honest I would be bored if I did not work at all but would be even more unhappy if I had to work full time again.

[happysnapper]

One thing to remember if on any centrelink pension is to always advise them if on a cruise that touches an overseas port. They will find out and they will penalise for not advising them. One older couple we know didn't and they lost subsidy to their expensive medication and their pension funds for a while. Very stressful for them.

 

Yes very important, and don't forget to let them know you have hacked into your savings to pay for the cruise, as this will reduced your $$ assets . However on the positive side if your assets are reduced significantly by the cruise costs it may lead to an increase in your part pension a wee bit if you are on one.

[Blue Elephant]

Hi Tara Jane

 

We had a great time on our Carnival Spirit cruise. This was a 'girlfriends' cruise and was the first cruise for one of the party. food was great! we listened to Music Manila most nights. did't find the Carnival Dancers shows all that impressive, but everything else was just wonderful. The girlfriends were asking me about organising next year before we even got home to Canberra. but I think I will in Europe cruising with my husband at this time next year.

 

Stationery supplies successfully dropped off at the school in Mare as well.