Retirees to hold properties for longer
Retiring baby boomers may hold onto their homes for longer under a new Government reform.
The recently announced ‘Living Longer Living Better’ aged care reform package aims to help retiring Australian’s keep stay in their homes for longer.
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The package, promising $3.7 billion over five years, has budgeted $955.4 million to assist with Home Care packages to allow the elderly to stay at home rather than move to aged care residences.
“Older Australians clearly want to remain in their own homes for as long as possible as their care needs increase,” the report says.
Currently, 78 per cent of baby boomers own a home (ABS Survey of Income & Housing).
“Over the next five years, the number of operational Home Care packages will increase by nearly 40,000, to almost 100,000,” according to the report.
This may help counter, what Citibank refers to as, the potential ensuing ‘chaos’ as Australia’s largest demographic group attempt to find buyers for their properties.
However, downsizers will still be in the market, the Citibank ‘Home as a Financial Tool’ survey found.
According to the Treasury study, Australia's Demographic Challenges, Appendix – the economic implications of an ageing population, by 2042 there will be just 2.5 people of working age to each person over the age of 65. In 2002, there were five people to every person over the age of 65.
The national Commonwealth Home Support Program will be established from 1 July 2015.
