A recent report on how Australia measures up on its treatment of Seniors says transportation is letting us down. That’s not a surprise but letting people in on that fact is becoming urgent. Please share the following report (from the Sydney Morning Herald) with your friends and relatives:
Elderly are healthy by world measure, but wealth an issue
More than a quarter of older Australians are struggling financially, a global report into the welfare of seniors shows. It ranks Australia at No.14 out of 91 countries.
While Australia’s older people scored well in health, employment and education, they fared badly on income security and perception of safety.
The Global AgeWatch Index 2013, devised by seniors advocacy group HelpAge International and the United Nations, is the first global league table ranking the health and welfare of older people.
Australia ranked behind Sweden, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands and Canada, which comprised the top five, and was also placed below New Zealand (7), the US (8) and Britain (13).
The report found that Australia’s overall ranking was damaged by the financial circumstances of older people, with 27 per cent having an income less than half the country’s average.
Poor public transport, which limits the independence of older people also harmed Australia’s score.
The Global AgeWatch Index, released on Tuesday, examined the welfare of people above 60 based on four key areas: income, health, employment/education and a senior-friendly environment.
It found that Sweden was the best country in the world in which to grow old, thanks to a generous welfare system, efficient public transport and strong community support.
Almost 20 per cent of Australians are aged over 60 with the proportion projected to grow to almost 30 per cent by 2050.
Of the 91 countries in the study, Afghanistan ranked as the worst place in the world to grow old, with the bottom five rounded out by Rwanda, Jordan, Pakistan and Tanzania.
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