Catherwood LibraryILR School

Australian Tresurer, Joe Hockey, has indicated that the country?s ageing population is and will continue to put too much stress on future budgets for the government to function properly without making some major change. Mr. Hockey believes that raising the country?s retirement age to 70 by 2023 would stave off the budget issues. Two Australian national institutions, the Productivity Commission and the Grattan Institute, both support the change, but everyday Australians and the country?s Labor Unions, and opposition politicians are crying foul, saying that the change in retirement age up to 67 has not even begun yet. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development?s data shows that, if the plan is implemented, Australia will have the highest retirement age in the world by far. Both Germany and Canada are raising their retirement age to 67 by 2029, and the U.S. will do so by 2036, making Australia?s retirement three years ahead of its closest rivals.