Australians have been arguing about their retirement age recently, as from 2035 they will have to work until they are 70 years old. Australia’s Treasurer Joe Hockey said Friday that the age pension, which will rise from 65 to 67 in 2023, will continue going up until 2035.
The new announcement was strongly criticized by workers and the opposition. But the Australian government wants to cut the pension cost to tackle the fiscal crisis. And the forecast says over the next 30 years, the number of Australians aged 65 or over will double from 3.5 million to 7 million, accounting for over 20 percent of its population.
Australia has no statutory retirement age, but men have been entitled to the pension at age 65 and women at 60 since 1908.