A new report from the government’s advisory panel on senior Australians also calls for tax changes to let older workers earn more before their benefits are cut, to encourage them to stay in the workforce.

Wayne Swan received the report, Realising the Economic Potential of Senior Australians, yesterday, saying failing to harness the skills and experience of older workers was costing the economy $10.8 billion a year. “For seniors who want to engage in paid work — we know there are about two million of them currently outside the workplace who are interested in working — we need to do our best to let nothing stand in their way,” the Treasurer said.

“We also know there are barriers: in attitudes and perceptions; workplace flexibility; opportunities to retrain; and even in the tax and transfer system. All of these are things we can change. And they are changing.”

The report says with more than 25 per cent of the population likely to be aged over 65 by 2050, the economy will need to embrace older workers or face a welfare blowout. “Some want part-time work, some want casual work and some want to work for blocks of time . . . in order to combine work with travel,” it says.

“Older workers who choose to work in a flexible way need to be given every opportunity. (The) right to request flexible work arrangements should extend to people aged 55 and over, to facilitate their continued participation in the workforce.”

Brisbane retiree Rod Golding, 76, an electrical engineer, worked until a year ago. He says governments and employers must realise how productive older workers can be. “I do ballroom dancing three nights a week. I go to the gym. Being 76 doesn’t make you an old man anymore,” Mr Golding says.

“They think we’re decrepit at age 60. If you’ve kept pretty fit over the years and kept your mind active, sitting around waiting to die for another 30 years is a bit much. We’ve got our skills, we don’t suddenly lose them.”

The panel’s report also recommended scrapping state-based stamp duty on housing, saying it was a “financial disincentive to moving, often doubling the cost of moving house”. “This can result in individuals not relocating to their preferred housing type, but continuing to reside in housing that is no longer suited to their lifestyle or physical capacity,” it says.

Source: The Australian

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