Asset poverty, precarious housing and ontological security in older age: an Australian case study

Over two-thirds of Australians are owner-occupiers and a majority of the population holds most of their wealth in housing. Australian taxation privileges homeowners and retirement income policy is built around the assumption that state pensions can be kept low because an overwhelming majority of old...

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Main Authors: Colic-Peisker, V., Ong, Rachel, Wood, G.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Routledge 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/27806
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author Colic-Peisker, V.
Ong, Rachel
Wood, G.
author_facet Colic-Peisker, V.
Ong, Rachel
Wood, G.
author_sort Colic-Peisker, V.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Over two-thirds of Australians are owner-occupiers and a majority of the population holds most of their wealth in housing. Australian taxation privileges homeowners and retirement income policy is built around the assumption that state pensions can be kept low because an overwhelming majority of olderAustralians are outright homeowners and therefore have a considerable asset base and low housing costs post-retirement, a situation often referred to as ‘wealthfare’. However, ageing of the population and falling housing affordability mean that the number of asset-poor older Australians unable to rely on‘wealthfare’ lifetime renters or those who drop out of homeownership is likely to grow in the future. In this paper we look at housing career pathways into precarious housing in older age, its impact on older Australians’ ontological security and coping strategies as they grapple with the housing circumstancesthat typically accompany asset poverty. Based on 30 interviews conducted with older Australians, the paper reports qualitative findings from a mixed methods research project conducted in Melbourne in 2009 - 2010.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-278062017-09-13T15:10:08Z Asset poverty, precarious housing and ontological security in older age: an Australian case study Colic-Peisker, V. Ong, Rachel Wood, G. asset poverty precarious housing ontological security older people homeownership Australia Over two-thirds of Australians are owner-occupiers and a majority of the population holds most of their wealth in housing. Australian taxation privileges homeowners and retirement income policy is built around the assumption that state pensions can be kept low because an overwhelming majority of olderAustralians are outright homeowners and therefore have a considerable asset base and low housing costs post-retirement, a situation often referred to as ‘wealthfare’. However, ageing of the population and falling housing affordability mean that the number of asset-poor older Australians unable to rely on‘wealthfare’ lifetime renters or those who drop out of homeownership is likely to grow in the future. In this paper we look at housing career pathways into precarious housing in older age, its impact on older Australians’ ontological security and coping strategies as they grapple with the housing circumstancesthat typically accompany asset poverty. Based on 30 interviews conducted with older Australians, the paper reports qualitative findings from a mixed methods research project conducted in Melbourne in 2009 - 2010. 2015 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/27806 10.1080/14616718.2014.984827 Routledge restricted
spellingShingle asset poverty
precarious housing
ontological security
older people
homeownership
Australia
Colic-Peisker, V.
Ong, Rachel
Wood, G.
Asset poverty, precarious housing and ontological security in older age: an Australian case study
title Asset poverty, precarious housing and ontological security in older age: an Australian case study
title_full Asset poverty, precarious housing and ontological security in older age: an Australian case study
title_fullStr Asset poverty, precarious housing and ontological security in older age: an Australian case study
title_full_unstemmed Asset poverty, precarious housing and ontological security in older age: an Australian case study
title_short Asset poverty, precarious housing and ontological security in older age: an Australian case study
title_sort asset poverty, precarious housing and ontological security in older age: an australian case study
topic asset poverty
precarious housing
ontological security
older people
homeownership
Australia
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/27806