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Retirement Saving in Australia

Author

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  • Garry F. Barrett
  • Yi-Ping Tseng

Abstract

Australia's retirement income system has two distinctive features: a means-tested public pension, and a policy mandating private retirement saving. These programs have gained increasing international attention as countries address the challenges posed by population aging. In this paper the institutional features of the retirement income system in Australia are outlined and contrasted to the Canadian retirement income system, with an emphasis on private incentives to save. The savings behaviour of current Australian retirees is examined, and the expectations of future retirees considered. Lessons from the Australian experience are drawn, which may inform Canada and other countries as they reform their retirement income system.

Suggested Citation

  • Garry F. Barrett & Yi-Ping Tseng, 2008. "Retirement Saving in Australia," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 34(s1), pages 177-193, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpp:issued:v:34:y:2008:i:s1:p:177-193
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Malcolm Edey & John Simon, 1996. "Australia's Retirement Income System: Implications for Saving and Capital Markets," NBER Working Papers 5799, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Bateman,Hazel & Kingston,Geoffrey & Piggott,John, 2001. "Forced Saving," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521484718.
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    6. Myles, John, 2000. "The Maturation of Canada's Retirement Income System: Income Levels, Income Inequality and Low Income Among the Elderly," Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series 2000147e, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch.
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    9. Feldstein, Martin S, 1974. "Social Security, Induced Retirement, and Aggregate Capital Accumulation," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 82(5), pages 905-926, Sept./Oct.
    10. Bateman, Hazel & Piggott, John, 2001. "Australia's mandatory retirement saving policy : a view from the new millennium," Social Protection Discussion Papers and Notes 23160, The World Bank.
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    12. Ellis Connolly & Marion Kohler, 2004. "The Impact of Superannuation on Household Saving," RBA Research Discussion Papers rdp2004-01, Reserve Bank of Australia.
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    Cited by:

    1. Todd Morris, 2022. "Re-examining female labor supply responses to the 1994 Australian pension reform," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 419-445, June.
    2. Atalay, Kadir & Barrett, Garry F., 2016. "Pension Incentives and the Retirement Decisions of Couples," IZA Discussion Papers 10013, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Kadir Atalay & Garry F. Barrett & Peter Siminski, 2019. "Pension incentives and the joint retirement of couples: evidence from two natural experiments," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 32(3), pages 735-767, July.
    4. Deborah A. Cobb‐Clark & Vincent A. Hildebrand, 2011. "Portfolio Allocation In The Face Of A Means‐Tested Public Pension," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 57(3), pages 536-560, September.
    5. Geoffrey Kingston & Susan Thorp, 2019. "Superannuation in Australia: A Survey of the Literature," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 95(308), pages 141-160, March.
    6. Zhu, Rong, 2016. "Retirement and its consequences for women's health in Australia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 117-125.
    7. Meliyanni Johar, 2017. "The Evolution of Out-of-Hospital Medical Costs to and through Retirement," Economic Papers, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 36(1), pages 17-31, March.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • H55 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Social Security and Public Pensions

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