Not many Australians have escaped the cost-of-living pressures of recent times. And research confirms that this applies to older Australians too.
For some older Australians, it has called for drastic measures. One such example is Jane Bari and her husband Jonathon. With a mortgage payment due and just $100 in the bank, the couple were forced to rethink their spending habits and lifestyle.
Ms Bari sat down and formulated a budget, soon realising that the changes would need to be drastic. Not only was eating out off the list, but so was their own house. The pair were forced to sell it and buy a smaller one.
Jane and John were confronted with their startling reality in 2017, and they were perhaps an exception to the rule at the time.
But that is no longer the case. This year’s National Seniors Social Survey (NSSS) revealed that 90 per cent of Australians are ‘concerned’ about keeping up with rising living costs. A quarter of the 5700 Australians aged over 50 who completed the February survey classed those concerns as ‘extreme’.
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Worryingly, 80 per cent of survey respondents said they were already negatively affected by cost-of-living pressures. For 20 per cent, the impact has been ‘major’.
Given further interest rate rises since then, it’s highly unlikely that percentage will have fallen in that period. And despite inflation dipping in recent months, it remains historically high. The current figure, therefore, is now probably above 80 per cent.
How are older Australians adjusting to cost-of-living pressures?
For many, the answer to that is tapping into their superannuation reserves.
In the first quarter of 2023 alone, retirees withdrew $14 billion from of the superannuation system, representing an increase of more than 20 per cent over the same period last year. This upsurge is almost certainly the result of them looking to cover living costs or pay down debt.
Aware Super reports around a quarter of those withdrawing lump sums said they were doing so to meet everyday expenses. A similar story emerged at Australian Super, where staff are getting more inquiries about accessing one-off payments for living costs.
The cost-of-living pressures are unlikely to ease anytime soon, meaning more Australians will be at risk of adverse financial circumstances. And it appears women are at greatest risk, according to data from the Council of the Ageing (COTA) Victoria.
COTA chief executive Chris Potaris explained. “Women over the age of 55 are the fastest-growing cohort of Victorians at risk of homelessness,” he said. “It is a perfect storm that risks overwhelming some older Victorians.”
And that storm is raging all over Australia. Mr Potaris is concerned that many of those under pressure will cut corners and “may make decisions that put their health at risk”.
Hopefully not. But genuine relief from cost-of-living pressures look to be some way off for now.
How are the cost-of-living increases affecting you? What changes have you had to make? Let us know in the comments section below.
Also read: Grow your own veg to beat the cost of living
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i am 72 and had to cancel my house and car insurance
i have to restrict my heating and cooling to less than minimun
I also keep my shopping to the same budget as i always have so that means i go without certain items
I am sure i am not the only one taking these measures as a lot ohf us are effected and it does not matter who is in govt the rich are looked after first
i will bet pensions will not go up at the right way of inflation and i would bet my house this govt will brag about how the deficit has gone down but at all Australians expence ELECTRICITY AND GAS EXTRA 10%over 6 million houses GST .car rego up 10% GST
housing industry 800 million at 10%gst and the list goes on
MAYBE EVERYONE WITH SOLAR PANELS SHOULD TURN THEM OFF AT THE SAME TIME ANS SEE HOW THE ELECTRICITY PROVIDERS WOULD COPE WITH THAT,
I left Australia on Holidays back in 2012 to Thailand and my pension was reduce to the minimum after a few weeks so I return home and rent a bedsitter style unit (very small) for $350 x week …. And request rest assistance that was a good help but overall at the end of the month was left with very little money to pay for electricity, Gas water and other needs like some medicines…. So was very difficult to live day by day
So I decide to look for better living options and start a big and long detail research of many countries (Europe countries, American continent, Asian continent) to retire, and after a few month I decide that Thailand probably was the best choice so I travel to Bangkok then up north and rented a 2 bedrooms home fully furniture for $120 x month wowowowowo and that was great…… and after buying food and fill up my fridge of all I needed I decide to stay longer so I extended my visa to be sure of what I was doing financially correct and all the time was the same full fridge cheaper cost of living (Electricity $27/30 x month – Water $10/15 x month all that back in 2012/13). ….. After all my research about Thailand (Law, customs, religious issues etc.etc) I return home pack up all important stuff got a “O” visa return to Thailand and request a retirement visa witch was granted for 1 year renewable.
After a few weeks in Bangkok area I decide that was better to move up north, so I did rent a 2 bed home plus garden and lots of space including air conditioner etc. etc. and fully furniture and start my new life in a new country.
Today (2023) after so many years I live with reduced to minimum Pension and have a great quality life in peace and without any financial worries and save some money every 2 weeks for trips around and back to Australia for a visit one’s a year
This is my history…… Now I am 80 years old have land (2,800 Square Mtrs) build a home the way I like (Land and Home fullly paid now) purchace a new car (now 5 years old) and own NOTHING to nobody just enjoying a nice warm weather and good life quality all year around and full fridge he he he
Oh Oh Oh I forgot to mention that I have 25 avocado trees apple trees chilli and many other vegetables growing on the land and some we use evry day – also we have full internet that cost me $18 x month and get average 500 Megabits per second ….. fast for me ….
i think i have said this before( but my situation i feel is being ignored)
i have only the fortnightly pension to “manage ” everything with.
there is of coarse my inheritance from my mothers will, -which she left my sister in law to manage according to her disgression. and she has chosen to be very controlling with it.
which is not very helpful to me. ( and lawyers so far have been unhelpful).
( legal aid lawyers).
Cesar. Great choice mate. I live in Korat Thailand 6 months of the year then return to my house in Australia for the other 6 months and visit family and friends. I rent a 2 bedroom house for just over AU$220 a month. Eat out at Thai restaurants quite often and never bored as plenty to do. Plus I have many Thai friends in Thailand. I also have the retirement “O” visa which is extended every year.
During covid I was in Thailand for over 30 months straight as restricted travel numbers and mandatory arrest with 2 weeks in solitary confinement that you paid for (The governments called it quarantine, BS) made it impossible to get back.
But now I am back to travel freely between both countries.
I travel a lot around Thailand and love the freedom which Australia has taken away from us over the decades.
I know a lot of expats from Australia and around the world that do the same as they love the climate, the people, the freedom, Thai food and a better quality of life.
You can’t stay in a 3 star plus hotel in the CBD of Sydney and eat at Thai restaurants every night with a large beer or 3 for under AU$100 a day. You can in Bangkok CBD hahahaha