Australia: Mercer Recommends Raising Pension Age

In response to the Draft Report on "Economic Implications of an Ageing Australia" of Australia's Productivity Commission, Mercer Human Resource Consulting has recommended that the following policies be considered to alleviate some of the adverse economic implications arising from Australia’s ageing population.

• Provide a framework which encourages employers to recruit and/or retain older workers;
  
• Encourage older workers to remain in the workforce through appropriate financial incentives;
  
• Review the lack of any clear integration between superannuation benefits and eligibility for the age pension by establishing a framework that provides a clear relationship between the benefits;
  
• Bring forward the funding of the existing unfunded superannuation liabilities through a program of decreasing capital injections;
  
• Gradually increase the eligibility age for the age pension from 65 to 67;
  
• Reduce the front end taxation of superannuation, with some increases to taxes on benefits over the longer term.
  

Source: "The Mercer Response to The Productivity Commission's Draft Report 'Economic Implications of an Ageing Australia'"Mercer Human Resource Consulting (February 23, 2005)