Still Putting In: Measuring the Economic and Social Contributions of Older Australians

Following on from its landmark report – AdvantAGE Australia: Maximising the potential of an ageing population (August 2008) – National Seniors Australia sought to further examine what older Australians do with their time.

We wanted to know how much older Australians contributed to the nation, both socially and economically. We also wanted to know about any barriers which might stop older people from contributing, and how we could encourage older Australians to keep participating, either in paid work or voluntarily.

To that end, the Eidos Institute, an independent think tank and research hub, was commissioned to investigate this topic and provide a better understanding of the enormous – and mostly unknown – contribution the over 55s make to Australian society.

This summary report sets out selected highlights from the full Eidos study* and indicates how the over 55s are ‘Still Putting In’ in a host of impressive ways.

Would you be shocked to find out that if all older Australians decided to retire overnight from fulltime work it would cost the nation $59.6 billion a year?

Or that currently, the Australian economy is losing $10.8 billion a year by not utilising the skills and experience of those aged 55 and over?

These findings and others revealed in this report confirm that older Australians are productive – they are an undeniable and proven asset.

The challenge now is for government, business and the community to recognise this capacity and remove any barriers which could stifle the invaluable contributions of future generations of older Australians.

To download the full report, please complete and submit the form below.