The Australian superannuation system will not reach maturity until the mid-2030s, when those on the point of retirement will have enjoyed the benefits of compulsory superannuation savings for their full working lives. Until very recently, the focus in superannuation has been on the Accumulation phase, but with the maturing of the system and increased longevity...

Summary A secure retirement rests on three foundations: adequate income, affordable housing, and decent affordable health and aged care. Income alone is not enough. There is a serious imbalance in the Federal Government’s support for retirement, with an estimated $30 billion ‘spent’ each year on inefficient tax breaks for superannuation while health funding is being...

In search of new approaches to aged care, the NANA Project studied 13 residential developments in Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark and Netherlands. The traditional ‘nursing home’ and ‘retirement village’ are not only outdated, they can actually foster separation and ‘otherness’, isolating people from their family, friends and interests. The aim of this project is...

As part of its research for this paper, the Commission has developed a model - referred to as the Productivity Commission Retirement Model (PCRM) - to assess the effects of increasing the preservation age. Modelling supplementary papers are also available.

This Positioning Paper is the first output of a project that aims to forecast future housing subsidies that will accompany projected demographic changes and the challenges these trends may pose for the fiscal sustainability of housing policy. Population ageing is a key demographic trend that features strongly in Australia’s future demographic projections and has important...