Baby boomers want help for pensions rather than self funded retirees

Baby boomers still have a sense of social justice: they want a decent pension or ‘safety net’ for those who need assistance rather than more assistance for self-funded retirees, according to a new report Baby Boomers and Retirement: dreams, fears and anxieties from the Australia Institute social policy think tank.

The study, based on eight focus groups and a national Newspoll of 850 people aged between 45 to 59 found that boomers were also:

· opposed to raising the retirement age, or eligibility age for receiving the old age pension
· supportive of national superannuation as ‘compulsory self-reliance’
· ambivalent about caring for grandchildren – many planned or had to keep on working
· sharply divided about retirement: high earners saw it as a change of career, to shift down and enjoy flexibility while lower income earners saw it as a welcome transition from work to leisure – if they could afford it.

The report commented that there was a widespread impression that all baby boomers had money which was not true: two-thirds were going to have a frugal retirement on the pension.