Weekend edition: Live long and prosper

Friday 27th June 2025

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This week Phil looks into the challenge of an ageing population. The most recent edition of the IMF’s World Economic Outlook devoted a chapter to what it calls the ‘Silver Economy’. We tend to see the declining ratio of taxpaying adults as a negative for the economy - fewer people working for the upkeep of a growing number of oldies.

Jessica Geraghty, senior associate for economic prosperity and democracy at the Grattan Institute, says we don’t have to look too far for inspiration on how to tackle the issue. Beyond changes to tax policies, we should also be looking to places like Singapore and Japan, where the focus is on longer healthier lives. Our cognitive abilities are also surviving g further into old age.

So, is a significant part of the solution to see older people continuing to work longer and could the rewards from this work reduce the health demands that older people place on the system. If that is the plan, is government policy reflecting it now?  

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