Social capital is a contentious and multifaceted topic. A broad consensus has been reached, however, that norms such as trust, networks of association membership, and practices of volunteering and socialising are essential to its makeup. It is also increasingly recognised that such elements fall into two distinct types of social capital - bonding and bridging...

Prepared for the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia, this report provides new estimates of the income older Australians need for a comfortable, sustainable standard of living. For a 70 year old woman in September 2003 the standard was $611.50; for a man, $597.50; and for a couple, $795.20.