Poverty In Retirement In Australia

Analyse the economic and social costs and benefits of inequality in distribution of income in Australia.

The recent Guardian newspaper’s investigation published on March 2016 studying the disposable income growth of generations also points out the Australian exception. Using LIS data, The Guardian’s journalists show Australia to be the only country in which individuals aged between 25 and 29 have experienced income gains between 1980 and 2015. Australia’s economic performance have also scarcely equaled in developed countries, boasting a decreasing unemployment rate of 5.5% in July 2016 only 1.5% higher than the 2008 record low of 4% (ABS).

The disparities accounted for in the distribution of wealth and income tends to reflect wealth that is accumulated during a person’s working life and utilised during retirement. Whilst this sources the foundation of inequality, the distribution of income in Australia is influenced by socio-economic factors such as gender, age, occupation and ethnicity. Gender is a common inconsistency in various economies, during 2013 average weekly earnings for males were $1516 while females earned $1250, this is still coherent for males and females in the same occupational categories, and is augmented for opposite genders in different occupational categories. In terms of ethnicity, it has been recorded that persons born overseas earn more than persons born in Australia, that non-English speaking backgrounds earn less than English speaking backgrounds and the period of residence in Australia is proportional to the income earned. However, the lowest income earners in the Australian community are Indigenous Australians and being heavily reliant on government welfare, earn a substantial loss in income compared to that

In the 21st century the unemployed or sole parent households become reliant on income support and non wage benefits L. Kirkwood et al: 2006). In 2002, 8.6 per cent of GDP was spent on social assistance benefits in cash to Australian residents L. Kirkwood et al: 2006). Total welfare expenditure in 2005-06 was $90.2 billion, of which $61.3 billion (68%) was cash benefits and $28.9 billion (32%) benefits-in-kind (welfare services). Spending on welfare services in 2005-06 was 3.0% of GDP or $1,404 per person (Welfare, 2011).

There is no doubt that the ageing population is a subject which has attracted much attention of Governments and communities in the world. Even in Australia, it is considered as one of the most crucial challenges which will have to confront in the next 25 years ( Hugo, 2014). Population ageing is defined as a change in the age structure of a country toward older ages. This is the repercussion of many elements such as the declining fertility rate, baby boom period and advanced technology in medical and healthcare extending longevity.While a number of studies have been done into proving this trend having several negative effects, it can be argued that there are many beneficial impacts both on national economy and society. This essay aims to look at the positive influences of older population on the workforce, then the Australian Government Budget, and finally the community.

Whilst these percentages had changed significantly it was also found that the types of people who were living under the poverty line were still the same. In this report it was found that 75 percent of those living below the poverty line were not in the workforce, and that the aged made up 41 per cent of all Australians that were living in poverty. (Williams, Lawrey 2000) Therefore it is clear that although the poverty line had risen significantly from 1975 to 1987, there has not been an improvement in the percentage of Australians living under the poverty line, but instead this percentage has increased.

Social Inequality in Elderly Americans Elderly people (women and men age sixty-five or older) (Macionis, 2005), Have many obstacles to face as they grow older, many of these obstacles involve social inequality. Not only do the elderly have to learn to deal with many forms of Ageism (the stereotyping and prejudice against individuals or groups because of their age), some also have to deal with the fact that they do not have enough savings or pension benefits to be self supporting, for most people over sixty-five, the major source of income is social security (Macionis, 2005). This forces many elderly Americans back into the workforce to continue to earn money to support themselves and or spouses. Although many elderly Americans may choose

In conclusion, Income security has had insignificant change however the introduction of compulsory superannuation’s are steps forward in trying to provide adequate standard of livings through privatisation. There are conflicting views over such policies as not everyone has benefited. Australia will always have some level of unfairness between our social sectors, however the main benefiters of the superannuation guarantee and the age entitlement to access pensions seems to be the already well-off sectors. Perhaps a way to avoid this is to increase

We also offer subsidies for those of low-income to help bridge the gap of whether to pay the rent or eat. According to Stats Canada, more than 12 per cent of all Ontario senior citizens fall below the Low Income Measure, which defines and determines poverty. That number hits 27 per cent when looking at seniors who are also single. This is particularly troubling given that seniors are expected to make up 23 per cent of the population by the year 2030. The stress on single person households is also a cause for concern in the report. The basic income gap for Ontarians in these homes falls 33 per cent under the 2014 poverty line of $19,774, while someone on the provincial disability support program falls 60 per cent below this

In this view governments are small, protectors of individual choice and focussed on the wealth creation that will trickle down to the more vulnerable. This Strategy was commissioned by the State Government but it only has some of the policy levers to tackle cost of living. Income support is a Australian Government matter as are most of the macroeconomic levers influencing the cost of living. Also taxation revenues are dominated by the Australian Government, and state taxation accounts for only a small proportion of total government revenues. Nevertheless there are goods and services over which the State Government has some control of pricing policy. Within these constraints, the Strategy focuses on feasible options for the State Government to pursue. The aim is to identify a framework and set of actions that can be delivered in the context of an already tight State Budget. This is especially important given that the State's revenue base is already largely regressive, that is the poor pay relatively more. In times of fiscal constraint where State Government departments and Government Business Enterprises (GBEs) are to find savings, they often turn to strategies, which are also regressive. In recent months we have witnessed an array of responses by departments and GBEs designed in part to improve their bottom lines. These responses include increases to user charges such as public housing rents and adult education fees,

The short-term costs of implementing a Nordic Model in Australia is likely to lead to a resistance from a cost conscious voting public (Pickering, C 2014). Inequality is rising against a background of social immobility. Reductions in inequality can follow from a leveling in either direction – by elevating the poor or pushing down the wealthy. However, it is the plight of the poor that we most need to improve. The answer to bridging the gap between Australia’s wealthy and poor is likely to be found in increasing social mobility and increasing opportunities for the disadvantaged. Improving the rate of upward income mobility is an important issue for policy makers not just because it is one of the core principles of Australian society but also

WelFAIR essay the author claimed it is unfair for hardworking Australians who contribute the most to receive the least in benefits. Instead a system designed to help people in need should be expunged with the burden to be transferred to their families. Throughout the essay, it was clearly one-sided with no good moral principles outlined. The prevalence of arguments rejecting welfare based on the small percentage of ‘dole bludgers,’ who mis-use the system is invalid. Based on these false pretences, the normative conclusion was that the welfare system should be abolished. The purpose of this reflection is to review the ethical dimensions explicitly and implicitly contained in the essay to determine if this a moral judgement or one merely made from a bias point of view. Furthermore, if any other ethical principles applied to the case and if this could of provided a stronger basis for the abolition of welfare. If there is a moral principle it would be an appeal to fairness, that is the right thing to do is what allows people to keep their own hard earned money.

Statistics show that 1 in 11 people have been subjected to violence since the age of 15 years of age. Our values are perishing…Australia is falling apart. In addition to that, Australia must unite as a nation and support the vulnerable elderly living in families, societies and country. The bills from government run companies such as water and power agencies are rising rapidly. Are we going to watch helplessly whilst the fragile grandparents and elderly parents of our societies struggle in their own homes, frozen to the bone in winter as they cannot simply afford to heat their houses? In 2013, 45% of adults aged 65 and older had incomes below twice the poverty level. This certainly depicts the failure of the leadership by the government and the lack of values. Vote for the family first flag for the beginning of a stronger and

Income inequality in Australia is a growing phenomenon. While Australia remains one of the wealthiest nations in the world and has seen income growth across all strata of society, income inequality has also risen in tandem (Greenville, Poke & Rogers, 2013, pp. 4-5). The Gini coefficient for Australia, an indicator of national income distribution where 0 represents perfect equality and 1 representing complete inequality, has gone up from 0.35 in 1988-89 to 0.41 in 2009-10 (Greenville, Poke & Rogers, 2013, p. 7). The Australia Institute (Richardson & Denniss, 2014, pp. 2, 8) cites the failure of minimum wage to keep up with average earnings in lower class Australians and significant increases in top incomes have led to an accumulation of wealth at the top. However in

The concept of superannuation was introduced through the Superannuation Guarantee (SG) with the idea of managing, accumulating and growing assets of members so that once retirement arrives they can enjoy a higher standard of living without concern for a shortage of income when retirement occurs, they arrive in the form of pension, lump sums or both. It is further explained by Dawkins (1992) that our current retirement income system was weak and that there was a need to strengthen Australia’s national saving performance. He stated “Greater domestic saving will relax the current account constraint on Australia’s economic performance. It will mean that we can grow faster without relying so heavily on foreign saving and building up an