Fed: Fears of population ageing crisis misplaced - report

AAP General News (Australia)
12-16-2001
Fed: Fears of population ageing crisis misplaced - report

CANBERRA, Dec 16 AAP - Fears of a funding crisis caused by Australia's ageing population
were misplaced, a new report said today.

The Australian Institute study showed the expected costs of providing retirement incomes
and health care for the elderly had been exaggerated.

Dr Pamela Kinnear, the author of the Population Ageing - Crisis or Transition report,
found the elderly were not a social and economic burden and alarm over the ageing population
was not justified.

"Dr Kinnear's detailed examination of population and health data shows that an ageing
population will not create an unsustainable burden on a shrinking workforce," institute
director Dr Clive Hamilton said in a statement.

"She has presented a very convincing argument to demonstrate that alarm over the (so-called)
ageing crisis is not justified by the evidence."

He said the report also found the three major assumptions on which the ageing crisis
was based were largely flawed.

The paper showed that:

* older people were not a social and economic burden, with most enjoying healthy, independent
and active lives;

* concern about a future dependency ratio imbalance formed the basis of the crisis
rhetoric, but this was a misleading measure and falsely equated dependency with age; and

* cross-country comparisons revealed the size of the aged population did not necessarily
impose a disproportionate burden on taxpayers.

Dr Hamilton said the paper challenged the belief that an older population would result
in health costs rising to an unsustainable level.

"Rising health costs are caused mainly by factors other than ageing, such as the growth
of medical technology, rising consumer demand and escalating prices," he said.

AAP dep/las/bwl

KEYWORD: AGE

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