Well said Cheryl... err Malcolm.

You've neatly explained why we need a stable population - in order to incentivise the ongoing training, education, job security, and financial and mental wellbeing of older workers.

A pyramid scheme of ever-increasing immigration to 'solve' the (mythical) ageing 'crisis' is untenable. Migrants also age.

The statistics on ageing in Australia have not caught up with the global downturn and real estate crisis.

Many Australians in their fifties and sixties have been hit with a triple whammy - insufficient superannuation (especially women), job lay-offs (which are far worse than we have been told in the media, and set to get a whole lot worser) and hemorrhaging wealth as property values in the upper price range ($600,000 to $1,500,000) have plummeted up to 60% over the last 18 months. The last is particularly devastating, as many boomers were encouraged (or had no choice but) to use their properties as a line of credit and/or as their major capital asset.

Added to that, income protection, life insurance, health insurance and a host of other buffers against aged poverty are either denied to people over 55, or inflict crippling premiums because of supposed 'age risk'.

If the government and gens X and Y do not want ageing baby boomers to be a burden on their respective purses and energies, then a helluva lot more has to be done to counteract the considerable and unnecessary ageism in the workforce, in the economy and in society in general.

A thought provoking article but it's really an issue for the whole of society not just boomers. What is needed is a redefinition of work and remuneration.

We still have and 'industrial revolution' model of work and education, where workers are educated to comply with the profit imperative of large corporations - work the hours and do the jobs that profit needs, not what society needs.

You touched on students - why do they now have to pay a lot for their 'ticket into professional employment' and have part time work to live when their main job should be studying? Why should most young people be enslaved for most of their lives if they want to pay an average mortgage? (I was able to pay mine off in 6 years in the 80's/90's) Why do they battle to pay the high rents.

Many in work get paid absurdly high wages (for doing what?) while others work full-time and barely survive. Inequality is getting worse. Let's have a debate about redefining work and remuneration.
Surely remuneration can be ironed out so the over paid get less, the under-paid get a bit more and the underemployed get a bit of meaningful, productive paid work?

Oh but that would require socialism, a dirty word for the neoliberal Lib-Lab governing class.

The boomers were/are the most privileged generation in history. They require no sympathy nor any more special consideration. PS I am a boomer

Four million Baby Boomers are about to retire and no longer pay taxes, but instead, become reliant on diminishing taxpayers.
This even as we manage to grow the GNP!
We can kick an increasingly difficult to pay or service, debt can, down the road, as we use the credit card to finance increasingly expensive social services.
And just which govt, is going to say NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! To an increasingly large, long lived and historically self centred and selfish, still voting, demanding demographic.
We need to introduce real and increasingly essential tax reform now, which will effectively simplify tax gathering, end avoidance; and, transfer the tax burden from individual tax payers; and onto, a growing GNP.
This is just what a very broad based consumption tax does, but only if it is established as the only tax allowed, with all others being repealed. It could also encapsulate a carbon component and some critical state's funding?
This vast and increasingly essential simplification, will forever end the need for tax compliance and reconciliation; and indeed, the sometimes onerous costs associated with both!
This single "real reform", will add around an averaged 7% to the Australian based bottom line and entirely reverse the trend to offshore, to seek tax breaks.
Given all tax is collected by this single instrument, all the other convoluted and complex arrangements can be simply jettisoned, adding even more to an already replenished bottom line and household disposals!
Given the Federal govt then becomes the only source of major road and rail, education and public health, direct funding. States should downsize, as part and parcel of long overdue, cost cutting essential reform!
And collect what they still need for vastly diminished responsibilities, from license fees, alcohol and tobacco excise?
Besides, what they administer now can be much more efficiently accomplished by regional boards, made up of largely unpaid, but very professional, retired or semi-retired "Baby Boomer" volunteers? [Past austerity practise?]
State boundaries should still exist for practical purposes, which should never again render a Australian tertiary degree null and void, virtually expunge a crime or protect a criminal!
Rhrosty.

I am one of those boomers too, I am 51 and have been looking for work for over 4 years, and know that there is age discrimination by employers and HR agencies going on. I have applied for hundred of jobs been wiling to relocate anywhere and still the unfortunately letters come back with every job application no matter how much experience I have, I worked all my life until I was let go 4 years ago. I did some training to no avail renewed my qualifications this also didn't help. I even pleaded my case on TV this didn't work either. Being a Mature aged job Seeker is a lot worse than is portrayed on the media.

'And just which govt, is going to say NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! To an increasingly large, long lived and historically self centred and selfish, still voting, demanding demographic.'

Yes, of course. This greedy 'long living' demographic doesn't need to eat or have a roof over their heads - after 40+ years of working. They're just old people. By all means, let them starve in the street (for having the audacity to live so long) or herd them into 19th century style workhouses, but don't even think of reducing our $30 billion annual military budget, or any other 'essential' services like corporate incentives to the wealthy.

'The boomers were/are the most privileged generation in history.'

Yep. This 'privileged' generation are now living through their third major recession (the previous ones being the late 1970s and early 1990s). Added to that, the later boomers bought into the housing market when house prices were tripling and quadrupling every 3 years, which deferred their entry into the housing market by several years in order to save the ever-inflating deposits needed(at least $300,00 in today's values) - and once finally in the market, they had to pay mortgage interest of up to 18%. They were also the first generation since the Depression to experience the serial retrenchments and downsizings of the neo-liberal/globalisation era.

Now they are being treated as some nebulous grey tsunami that is drowning the Western nations in social security debt, even though Western governments never seem to lack the funds to bail out our failed financial system.

ray51.
I know several people in your situation. I wish there were more that I could do other than just say: 'Hang in there.'

Before you let governments and the wealthy take away your Pension rights, bear in mind that a lot of the the older of the Baby Boomers will be dead or close to, as the coming 20years unfold. Those aged in their late 50’s to 70’s. We don’t all live until we are 80years, that is a maximum not an average. Newspaper funeral notices back this up.

The younger portion of the Baby Boomers are all paying much more in Super than the older Baby Boomers did. So where is this huge problem? Also the younger Boomers stand to inherit a fortune in property and wealth to add to their Superannuation as the older Boomers die.

A lot of professional Boomers who have white collar jobs which don’t demand any heavy physical work and maybe own their own Business or Practice will most probably in a lot of cases choose to go on working a couple of days a week. That again takes the pressure off Boomer retirement.
Just because professionals can do this because of their desk jobs and control over what hours they work shouldn’t mean that physically demanding work should be expected of old boomers who can no longer do heavy work.

For example they shouldn’t want some poor old 60year old to do demanding house cleaning or nursing while The young smart Johnnie or Julie just out of school gets the less physical desk job. It would make more sense that the young strong ones are doing the heavy cleaning and nursing jobs, while the old ones get the less physically demanding desk jobs. But that ain’t going to happen is it?

Because of ageism by employers and the wanting of the glamour jobs by the young ones. Unless the government steps in and provides part-time desk jobs of 20% or more for older workers in government departments. Put their ideas where their mouth is so to speak.