On Background: Aged care's generational divide

A lot of younger Australians don’t think much about aged care. Let’s be honest – if they do think about growing old – it’s usually dreaming of a comfortable retirement when they can stop working and tap into their superannuation – not necessarily what their aged care might involve. But that superannuation we’re all contributing to – could end up being critical to the sort of aged care we ultimately receive. The government has been grappling with how to properly fund aged care – to fix some of the problems identified in a recent Royal Commission report and to accommodate the demographic bulge of baby boomers moving into their senior years. This week the final report of the government’s Aged Care Taskforce was released. It’s recommended more user-pays. Those who can afford to do so – should pay more.

Exactly who pays and how much – is now up to the government to decide.  So is this the right approach? And what sort of aged care can we expect in the future?

David Speers talks to the youngest member of the Taskforce Report, Thomas Walker – specifically chosen to bring a Generation Y perspective to the aged care debate – to find out why the taskforce is so concerned about how we pay for it.

Insiders: On Background digs a little deeper into an issue that will be covered on the show each week with an expert to better understand the debates dominating politics.