Irlakeham, P. (1980), Economic aspects of the employment of older norkers. Department of Employment (G.B.). Research Paper No. 14, England.

Marshall. R. (1974). ‘The economics of racial discrimination! a survey’. Journal of Economic Literature 12(3), 849-7 I .

McCait. J . J . (1973). Income Mnbilit), Racial Discrimination. and Ecnnnmic Growth. Lexington, Massachusetts.

New South Wales Anti-Discrimination Board (1980). Discrimination and Age, New South Wales Government Printer, Sydney.

-(1981), Age Barriers, Proceedings of a Seminar on discrimination and ageing, New South Wales Government Printer, Sydney.

Piore, M. J . (197% ‘Notes for a theory of labor market strarifica- tion’ in R. C . Edwards, M. Reich and D . M. Gordon (eds), Labor Murket Segmentation, Hcarh, Massachusetts. pp. 125-50.

Thurow. L. C . (1969). Poverty and Discrimination, The Brooking5 Institution. Washington D.C.

U . S . Department of Labor (1979). Emplnyment-Related Problems of Older Workers: A Research Strategy, R&D Monograph 73, US. Government Printing Office. Washington D.C.

D. W. Kulish and L. S . U’rlliums Birreuu of Luboicr Murket Reseurch

The authors would like to thank Alan Srretton. Norman Fisher. Leslie Fallick and other BLMR colleagues for comments on earlier drafts of this paper. Continuing work may result in a revised paper at a later date.

THE BRISBANE RETIREMENT STUDY The Effectiveness of Retirement Preparation

in the Queensland State Service Superannuation Fund John McCallum

This paper reports on a mail survey (70 percent response) study of about 1,000 retirees from the Queensland State Service Superannuation Fund. Per- sons who attended the retirement preparation pro- gramme provided by the Fund were compared with those who did not attend, across a wide range of variables. Assuming random assignment to these two groups, the following effects of retirement preparation were observed: a greater propensity to make and revise a Will; a lesser propensity to change one’s residence; less frustration in finding paid work, voluntary work and leisure activity; a greater likelihood of holding stable expectations of future life satisfaction; a greater arousal about some aspect of retirement life; a more rational choice of the form of benefits, and; a tenden- cy to spread maturity dates on investments. Within the limitations of the study, it was claimed that Retire- ment Preparation had desirable effects. This is the first significant Australian evidence on this topic.

The Study: Methodology This is a study of a range of attitudes and actions of

952 recent retirees from Crown employment in Queensland and some 297 of their spouses. The aspect of the study dealt with in this paper is the investigation of the effectiveness of the Retirement Preparation Programme provided by the State Service Superan- nuation Fund. The Study was supported by the Research Committee of the School of Social and In- dustrial Administration at Griffith University and the State Service Superannuation Fund.

The central methodological strategy used was to compare course attenders with course non-attenders. This is done with similar sample characteristics presumed and observed for both groups. Thus dif- ferences observed between the two groups are argued to be consequences of course attendance within the three years after the course.

One possible weakness of this strategy is that people “self-select” themselves to attend or not attend the course. They are not randomly assigned to groups. Thus we cannot be sure whether the effects we observe are a consequence of the course or of more obvious or more subtle personality differences which people had before they decided to attend or not to attend courses.

A series of American studies have highlighted this

problem. O’Rourke and Friedman (1972) suggest that self-selection into a course already implies a higher degree of adjustment to retirement. Bowman (1974) argues that people d o not attend courses to gain new information, rather they seek confirmation of at- titudes and information that they already hold. Kasschau (1974) claims that people with negative or neutral attitudes to retirement are less likely to subject themselves to the potential influence of courses. These critical observations were themselves in need of em- pirical backing before pre-retirement course evalua- tions could be regarded as having a “self-selection” problem. Cokinda’s (1974) study of the Chrysler UAW programme in Michigan provides such evidence. Males were more likely to participate than females. Participants had higher levels of formal education than non-participants and lower skilled peo- ple were more likely not to participate. Finally par- ticipants were more likely to have heard about the course before receiving a letter of introduction and to have already started making plans and thinking about their retirement, compared to non-participants.

In Australia, even with these possible biases in favour of programmes having “effects”, the National Research Institute of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine in Melbourne found, that among Victorian Telecom workers (1978:3):

No differences were found between Course at- tenders and non-attenders as judged by criteria such as altering Wills, social involvement, knowledge of social services, financial security and self-assessment. As the only evaluative study presently available in

Australia this was not promising. Do Australian pre-retirement programmes have any

desirable effects? A new generation of evaluative studies from America (Glamser and DeJong, 1975; Tiberi et al., 1978) control for self selection by part random assignment or by statistical devices. Their results are beginning to look very similar to those ob- tained in the “methodologically suspect” studies, although the effects are observed over shorter time periods. I have argued (McCallum, 1981) that such random assignment, besides being impractical in ap- plied research like the present study, is ethically ques- tionable. What right have we to deprive people of the

16

benefits of courses in the interests of more “clinical” tests of the effects of courses? In the present study, for example, random assignment would have upset the promotion and running of programmes by the Fund. Quite clearly, however, the problem of control re- mains. More practically, random assignment and pretests simply were not available as a design option in the organization studied.

Given “the costs” of random assignment, the benefits were not clear for the present study. The key issue is whether or not attenders are more likely to pre- plan than non-attenders. Given that some 40 percent or more of American programmes are run outside working hours (Siegel and Rives 1980), the attenders are likely to be planners because of the effort required to attend. However, in Britain (Rives and Siegel 1980) and probably in Australia, day release schemes are much more common. Thus attendance becomes “the line of least resistance”, because it is time off work with full pay. In this situation non-attendance can be common amongst conscientious planners. For exam- ple. people such as school teachers and senior officers have indicated that they feel unable to attend because they are unwilling to leave work for two days. Our feeling was that the majority of people did not per- sonally plan for retirement, mostly because they have little time to themselves and possibly because of some “avoidance” of the expected pains of transition.

Given good reasons to doubt that attenders were more likely to pre-plan, there were further reasons against the use of random assignment in the present study. Random assignment involves a somewhat clinical approach to pre-retirement education and ex- cludes most local elements of programmes in its ef- forts to test pure types. However some recent, as yet unpublished work, by Phillipson from Keele Universi- ty, England would indicate that this is not necessarily so. Seltzer (1977) stresses the importance of good course materials and teachers in providing effective courses. These and other local variations are essential in a study of specific programmes. Secondly, random assignment studies typically have short time horizons, up to about three months after attendance, because of their attempts to avoid effects of history. In an applied study, one needs to look at effects over a much longer period. Thus the choice facing us in the design of this study was the following:

1. random assignment, avoiding any question of self-selection but short time perspective and ex- clusion of local variation, or

2. non-attenders comparison group, with three year time perspective including local features, but with a possible query about self-selection.

The best strategy, and the only practical one, was the latter.

In the present survey respondents were identified only in terms of very broad characteristics which they freely provided in answers to the questionnaire. For reasons of confidentiality non-respondents were not identified in any way. This was the price paid for the gain of response rates through complete personal privacy. The current, high profile of “the superannua- tion issue” in the local press also demanded this ap- proach. As an example of the way we worked, all retirees were sent reminder notices, because we had no way of knowing who had responded already. All these safeguards were provided to ensure that this exercise

was ethical and voluntary in its participation re- quirements. No doubt these considerations had an ef- fect leading to very high response rates from retirees.

The only significant difference between the characteristics of participants and non-participants in this study was in the levels of their lump sum benefits. Participants received higher benefits than non- participants. Where necessary the effects of this dif- ference will be controlled for in the study. Otherwise significant differences between groups can be taken as indicating effects of the course with the proviso that “self-selection” into the course may have affected the outcome. Alastair Heron (1962:3) describes the pro- blem as “. . .that familiar to the perennial evangelist, whatever his good news may be, most of those who come to his meetings are already converted . . .”. In this study, like the evangelist, we feel that this is a pro- blem which we can live with, without much fear of contradiction. I move now to look at the findings of the study.

The Study Sample and Instruments Officers of the State Service Superannuation Fund

mailed questionnaires to ex-contributors who had retired in the period 1/1/78 to 30/6/80. The question- naires were despatched on 1 1 May, 1981 and one reminder note was sent on 2 June, 1981. Ex-con- tributors responded at a rate of 70 percent of the total sample. Spouses of ex-contributors responded at a rate of 38 percent with a further 18 percent indicating in writing that their response would be identical with those of their partner. Either a different style ques- tionnaire or personal interviews seem to be required if one is to successfully gather information about spouses. In the present study, we had attempted to design one questionnaire t o cover both ex-contributors and their spouses. Obviously spouses did not perceive that this questionnaire was relevant to themselves.

The characteristics of the ex-contributors who responded are set out below, in total, and by whether or not they attended the Retirement Preparation Pro- gramme run by the Fund.

The sample was predominantly white-collar (Profes- s iona l /Technica l , Administrative/Executive, Teacher/Educator) and predominantly married. Respondents predominantly received in excess of $SO,OOO as their lump sum entitlement (78 percent received more) which they were most likely to take en- tirely as a lump sum. About 40 percent were in receipt of the age pension and only about 10 percent had returned to work in some form. Most were retiring “to enjoy a period of retirement” (37 percent), or because they “reached fined retirement age” (28 percent). These characteristics indicate that we are dealing with a group of relatively well-off, stable, socially in- tegrated, ex-white-collar retirees.

Those who attended the pre-retirement programme run by the Fund are similar in most respects to those who did not attend the programme with one excep- tion. “Attenders” are twice more likely to be in receipt of lump sums in excess of $100,000 compared to “non-attenders” (5 1 percent versus 26 percent respec- tively). A possible reason for this important difference would seem to be the greater interest that those with higher lump sums have in financial advice and in ad- vice on when to retire. Consistent with this explana- tion we find that the “attenders’’ are more likely t o

17

Table 1

Median Age

course course Attenders None

Attenders 63.0 64.0 ?r, of 78 of

Sex Male Female

Marital Status Single Separated Divorced Married Widowed

ProfessionaVTechnical Police Officer Clerical Manual Worker Other Administrative/Executive Teacher/Educator Tradesperson Home duties

Below

Occupational Group

Amount of Lump Sum (S)

5000- 9999 10000- 29999 30000- 49999 50000- 74999 75000- 99999

100000-149999 Over 150000 Form of benefits taken

All as lump sum All as pension Part pension/part

lump sum

Main reason For retiring Reached fixed retirement

Personal health reasons Family health reasons Maximize retirement

income Maximum family security Sick of work Enjoy a period of

retirement No work available in

organisation Other

Full-time Part-time CasuaVon call No

Yes No

age

Returned to paid employment

Receipt of Age Pension

(lo of Total Sample

84.2 15.8

8.5 1.2 1.2

81.9 7.2

27.0 9.2

13.0 1.8 1.1

17.5 28.4

1.7

course Course Attenders Non-

86.1 13.9

7.0 0.7 1.0

84.3 7.0

25.7 9.4

12.5 1.6 1.2

18.7 29.4

1.2

Attenders

78.3 21.7

11.8 2.2 1.8

75.4 8.8

29.3 7.9

14.4 2.6 0.9

14.4 26.6 3.5

Spouses Spouses Spouses

2.4 2.9 7.1 9.8

15.8 17.5 31.4 13.3

89.4 2.3

8.3

27.9 11.7 3.0

9.1 5.3 2.8

37.4

0.7 2.0

1.7 6.0 3.6

88.7

37.1 62.9

0.7 3.0 6.0 7.6

13.4 18.6 35.2 15.5

89.5 1.6

8.9

27.0 10.1 2.8

10.5 6.0 2.8

38.5

0.3 2.0

1.3 5.9 3.8

89.0

35.2 64.8

6.9 3.2

10.6 15.3 22.2 15.3 18.5 7.9

89.0 4.4

6.6

31.6 16.9 3.1

5.8 3.6 2.7

32.4

2.2 1.8

2.7 6.7 1.8

88.9

41.9 58.1

Housing Flat Unit House

1.2 4;2

94.5 Number of Responses 952 693 229

1.0 3.0 4.0 5.0

95.0 92.0

state as their main reason for retiring either maximiza- tion of retirement income or family security. This one point of difference does suggest that the course at- tenders are typical in at least one important respect. However the only important question is whether or not they are more likely to pre-plan for retirement. Female teachers, as one case, indicated a high interest in planning but were likely to have low lump sums hav- ing entered the scheme as late as 1973. The were also a typical group who. the Fund reports, decsned to at- tend programmes on the grounds that it would be un- fair to colleagues. So there is no necessary connection between lump sum size and propensity for planning. Other differences between these groups are not impor- tant and consequently, we may proceed with com- parison of behaviour and attitudes reported by both groups, except when this income differential is a crucial variable.

Overview of the Programme Evaluation Instruments

The programme was evaluated in two sections of a mailed questionnaire. The first section sought subjec- tive evaluations by people who had attended the pro- gramme. As would be expected, these subjective evaluations by course attenders were very positive and the greatest interest was in the areas of investment, taxation, superannuation and heakh. This area of the investigation provides clear support for the personal relevance of the programme to attenders.

The second type of evaluative question seeks to measure actual attitudes and self reported actions against an ideal standard or, more accurately, stan- dards encouraged on the programme. The following areas were evaluated by the questionnaire with the following general results:

Area of Question Effects of Programme Observed

Practical Aspects of Retirement Pension information & application No Making and reviewing Wills Yes. Strong Changing place of residence Yes. Strong Activities Yes. Weak Networks of family & friends No Accommodation No Health Yes. Sample bias? Holidays Yes. Sample bias? Superannuation and Investment Choice of benefit form Reasons for choice of benefit Made correct choice No Investment & consumption of

lump sums No Terms of investments Yes. Weak Life Satisfaction Before retirement No At time of survey No Five years in future No Stability of expectations of

life satisfaction Yes Bradburn Affect Scale

Yes. Weak Yes. Strong

Yes. Very Weak

Thus in over half the areas investigated significant effects, some weak and some based on stronger evidence, were observed. Each one of these areas will

18

now be explored in detail. Given the methodological limitations, there does seem to be a good case that pre- retirement programmes have desirable effects.

Attenders Subjective Evaluations of the Programme, Contributors and Spouses

About 75 percent of respondents attended the Retirement Preparation Programme run by the Fund and 25 percent did not. In this analysis only, con- tributors to the Fund were compared t o their spouses who attended the programme. In all other analyses we are able to compare attenders with non-attenders.

“Help from course” item Contributors Spouses Significance

Giving reassurance Clearing up confusion . . . An opportunity to dispel

retirement myths and unnecessary fears

Deciding the date to retire Increase awareness of

problems which may be encountered

A chance to talk to others also facing retirement

Making the change to retirement easier

Found seminar of no help

39 77

24 14

63

so 41

3

41 No 71 No

30 No 10 No

62 No

46 No

32 0.02 < 0 . 0 5 , ~ ~ 2 No

Number 723 222

The primary value of the programme was seen as ly- ing in the help in “clearing up confusion or questions on certain subjects”, which 70 percent scored. Whilst further value was found in the opportunity to “in- crease awareness of problems which may be en- countered’’, 63 percent, and a “chance to talk to others also facing retirement”, 50 percent. Virtually no-one found that the seminar was of no help. As can be seen from the table, spouses were similar to con- tributors except they did not have the same personal interest in “making the change to retirement easier”. The responses are in general signs of positive evalua- tion of the programme.

Relevance of Course Information Respondents were asked whether the information

given on the programme had been of use, with the following results:

Contributors Spouses Yes 86 88 Of very little

practical value 13 11 Of no use 1 1 Number 695 180

These results support the more detailed analysis above. The Retirement Preparation programme is a very significant addition to the steps people themselves take in preparing for one of life’s major transitions.

Respondents wrote down topics on the programme which they felt had been the most use to them with the following results:

Order in which Total Overall respondents

ranked topics Mentions Rank

Lecture Topic 1st 2nd 3rd 4th frequency) Order Superannuation 21.8 15.0 14.4 11 .1 18.1 3 Leisure

Activities 1.7 5.0 13.5 22.2 5.3 5 Health 13.2 19.6 30.6 11.1 17.1 4 Travel 1.0 1.8 4.5 8:3 2.0 7 Investment 46.6 15.7 7.2 5.6 29.2 I Taxation 11.5 36.1 18.0 11.1 20.6 2 Wills 1.0 1.4 4.5 8.3 1.9 8 Social

(relative

Workers Lecture 1.5 1.8 4.5 13.9 2.5 6

Numbers 408 280 111 36 835 Number of

Attenders 693

So some 60 percent of course attenders mentioned at least one topic which they felt had been of use during retirement. The ranking of topics should not be taken strictly since respondents were not asked specifically to rank topics. This is, more accurately, the order in which respondents mentioned topics. The fact that nearly all respondents numbered their list did indicate that this was their subjective ranking.

Topics concerned with money occupy the three top positions namely, investment, taxation and superan- nuation. The health lecture is almost of equal standing with these topics. The more general topics were, predictably “less useful”. Probably a better guide to the importance can be found in the table of “Help from the course items” where considerable help was claimed to have been gained in such areas. With the more defined topics, it is easier for respondents to assess what has been useful. This is not to denigrate the importance or the effectiveness of these successful lectures. However, as we shall see in the next section, the ability to remember which “factual” topics were useful, is not the only guide to effectiveness of the pro- gramme. Some two to three years after the pro- gramme, lecture topics which were useful only at the time of retirement are less likely to be remembered, such as, advice on Wills and relocation. The continual financial concerns of retirement enhance the likelihood that such topics will be remembered.

Length of Time Prior to Retirement for Course Attendance

There was a difference in what course attenders ver- sus non-attenders considered to be the ideal length of time prior to retirement to attend a Seminar.

Attenders Non- Attenders

Ideal length 1-9 months 75 51

of time 10 months t 25 43

N 68 I I96 Chi Square = 22.4 Significance 0.00

19

There is, then, a shorter length of time perceived as ideal by course attenders. The length of time prior to retirement that people actually attended the course was: Length of time prior to retirement mean 1.26 yrs

that people attended the course median 1.13 yrs

Further to this, some 86.4 percent of attenders, par- ticipated in a programme within 9 months of retire- ment. The significant difference in responses from at- tenders and non-attenders is clearly related to the ac- tual time people attend course. It can be argued to be a “striving for consistency” (or avoiding cognitive dissonance) in peoples attitudes. Whilst the opinions of non-attenders are not based on experience of the course, there may be grounds for encouraging people to attend programmes earlier than they are attending at present. One reason would be to “normalize” retirement by spreading mental preparation over a longer period. This would require a multi-sta ed cur-

number of stages beginning, perhaps, yith general themes followed later by investment advice closer to retirement. Because of their superannuation coverage, the present group are less in need of investment advice to provide for their retirement during “middle age” than are other groups.

These results, both in terms of personal develop- ment achieved on the programme and in terms of the usefulness of the information confirm that par- ticipants generally get a considerable amount from the course. It seems that respondents are more inclined to approach these courses with an economic frame of mind. This, however, does seem to provide “the bait” for simultaneous consideration of personal and social matters.

Practical Aspects of Retirement Pensions (Age + Veterans)

riculum for retirement preparation, invo H ying a

~ During the course a representative of the Department of Social Security provided full information on pensions and encouraged those eligible to apply. Overall, more non-attenders, in percentage terms, applied for and received the age pension than attenders - the difference is however not significant.

Non- Attenders Attenders

Receive the age Number 243 95 pension Percent 35 42

Chi Square Significance 0.08 z 0.05 The reasons why people considered that they were ineligible for the pension were as follows:

Attenders Non-Attenders

Because of age 23 26 Because of income 60 60 Because of age and income 12 6 Uncertain 3 4 Do not want a pension 1 3 Other 1 I

N 444 131

Thus the reason for the higher percentage of pen- sioners amongst the non-attenders could simply be because more of them were eligible, which squares with the income differences between the two groups. This result is then, unrelated to the effects of the course.

The course involved a session in which people were advised to make and revise Wills. More course at- tenders reported making a Will compared to course non-attenders.

Percent Attenders Non- Attenders

Madea Will Yes 98.4 94.1 No I .6 5.3

Thus, despite the difference being less than 4 percent, the course significantly af- fected the propensity to make Wills. Fur- ther to this, more attenders were likely t o have reviewed their Wills in the period since retirement (3 years maximum) than non-attenders.

Period since review Attenders Non-

of Will (percent) At tenders

0-3 years 51 41 4-10 years 49 59

Number 661 210

Chi Square Significance 0.005 c 0.01

Chi Square Significance 0.03 < 0.05

In the area of making and revising Wills the course has effects that cannot be explained by chance variation. As referred to previously, this lecture was rated only eighth by attenders in terms of its usefulness. Ap- parently, having taken the required action, they are able to forget about it.

Relocation of Residence Whilst‘the retirement programme advised people in

favour of making Wills, it advised against precipitous relocation of one’s residence. There was a need to counteract some of the unrealistic perceptions about retiring to the coast or some other retirement “paradise”. Fewer attenders changed their residence relative to non-attenders.

Changed residence Attenders Non- since retiring or just Attenders prior to retirement

Yes No

23 33 Chi Square 17 67 Significance

0.004 <: 0.01

Number ~ ~-

688 221

20

The reasons for attraction to a new location were, as a percent of movers:

Attraction Percent Response

The beach The Mountains I t was where I grew up Closer to family M y health More suitable dwelling type Climate Other

26 6 3

19 5

20

20 1

Number 20

There were no significant differences between at- tenders and non-attenders on these reasons. Respondents themselves inserted “more suitable dwelling type” as a reason for moving residence. Had it been included on the given list it may have scored more highly. The possible effect of transfers within a decentralized Government Service was not recorded by respondents, and should apply equally to attenders and non-attenders.

Activities Very few people were frustrated by the lack of op-

portunity in retirement, in the following areas specified on the questionnaire:

Frustrated Not Frustrated

Voluntary work Paid work Other Activities

2.4 97.6 4.8 95.2 2.3 91.7

There were no significant differences between at- tenders and non-attenders in response rates. However non-attenders were less likely to state that they had ex- perienced n o trouble with respect to action opportunities:

Attenders Non-Attenders

No trouble Chi Square experienced 89.6 84.3 Significance (Not stated) 10.4 15.7 0.04 < 0.05

On the basis of such a general expression no specific conclusion can be reached. In general, i t seems to in- dicate that people who attended the course were more likely to experience no trouble with respect to finding suitable, socially organized activities for themselves, compared to people who did not attend the course. This aspect of the course, namely the facilitation of the achievement of personal goals, would be expected as a direct consequence of course material, as well as, of the informal interactions between people during the course.

Health - Attenders were. significantly more likely to say that their health allowed them to d o the things that they wanted to do.

Percent Response Attenders Non-Attenders

Health allows to Chi Square do things you Yes 94 84 Significance want to do No 6 16 0.00

Moreover course non-attenders were slightly more likely to consider that their health had got worse since retirement. The differences were not significant overall.

Percent Response Attenders Non-Attenders

Better Now Worse Now Unchanged

46 45 7 11

41 44

Number 690 227

Given that people who were explicitly retired for health rather than age were excluded from the survey, we are dealing with a lesser level of health problems. The unanswered question here, is whether ill-health was a reason for non-attendance at the Pre-Retirement Programme. For example, i f one chose to retire early because of relative ill-health then i t is less likely that one would be able to attend a Pre-retirement Pro- gramme. This is supported by the evidence on reasons for retiring where we find these differences in reason (personal health reasons) between the two groups:

Main Reasons for Retirine

Attenders Non-Attenders

Personal Health Reasons 10.1 16.9

Overall Percent 11.7

Whilst the difference is highly suggestive, we cannot be sure about the characteristic of non-respondents. I t does suggest the need for some special provision of programmes to those who retire through ill health and are unable- to attend normal programmes. Overall it seems that there are few observable effects of the health lectures on the very general variables in- vestigated here.

Travel The group were great travellers. There were no dif-

ferences in propensity to take holidays in Queensland.

Queensland Holidays Attenders Non-Attenders

None 1 or 2 More than 2

27 29 43 43 30 28

Number 693 229

However, the attenders were more likely to take holidays and trips in Australia. i.e., outside Queensland.

21

Australian Holidays Attenders Non-Attenders

Nil 44 53 Chi Square I or 2 40 32 Significance More than 2 16 IS 0.05 = 0.05

Number 693 229

The differences became significant when overseas holidays were considered:

~

Overseas Holidays Attenders Non-Attenders

Nil 55 75 Chi Square I or 2 32 17 Significance More than 2 13 8 0.00

Number 693 229

With only one quarter of the sample not having taken holidays in Queensland, slightly under a half not hav- ing taken holidays in the rest of Australia and about two thirds not having taken holidays overseas, we can see that travel during the first years of retirement is a very popular activity. However the major constraint appears to be the amount of income at the disposal of the retiree. From the comments of participants at courses, they have a strong and unfulfilled desire to get to know Australia, in particular its natural beauty, better than they have known it after three score and more years.

Summary of Effects in Practical Matters

In contrast to the previous section we are now able to investigate specific effects of retirement preparation on respondents (self-reported) behaviour. These results showed signs of effects of the programme namely: a) attenders were significantly more likely to have

made a Will; b) attenders were significantly more likely to have

revised their Wills in the last three years; c) attenders were significantly less likely to have

changed their residence around their reitrement date;

d) attenders were significantly more likely to have experienced no trouble in finding suitable work (voluntary or paid) and activities for themselves.

It can be argued that people who attended the Retire- ment Preparation Programme are more likely to engage in prudential activities than those who d o not attend. Thus this course has been effective in these areas. However the differences between the groups on travel variables are a direct consequence of the lower disposable income of the non-attenders relative to at- tenders, who receive higher lump sums.

Life Satisfaction Satisfaction Scores

Two general items on the questionnaire, namely a life satisfaction ladder and the Bradburn Affect Scale,

were used to investigate general feelings about retire- ment satisfaction amongst retirees. On the first measure respondents rated, on a five point scale, their general satisfaction with life at “the present” and “a few years before retirement” and “5 years or SO into the future”. On all three time periods at which satisfaction was rated there were no significant dif- ferences between those who attended courses and those who did not. The ratings between periods are shown below:

A few years before Right Now 5 years or retirement so into

the future Very satisfied 27.9 ) 53.3 ) 39.4 )

) 80.7 ) 94.9 ) 14.9 Satisfied 52.8 ) 41.6 ) 35.5 ) Unsure 6.3 3.1 24.3 Dissatisfied 10.8 ) 1.7 ) 0.7 )

Very dissatisfied 2.2 ) 0.3 ) 0.1 ) ) 13.0 ) 2.0 ) 0.8

Number 900 903 812

Clearly, present satisfaction with retirement life was very positively evaluated - 95 percent of respondents were either “satisfied” or “very satisfied’ with letire- ment life. This was far more positive than the evalua- tions of satisfaction before retirement and into the future. Before retirement, 13 percent were either dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with life. Into the future, more people were “unsure”, namely 24.3 per- cent, about how they expected t o feel. Both these features of the general picture deserve comment. The sizeable group feeling dissatisfied with their latter working years is probably also an indication of con- strained career opportunities, as well as, under- achievement in terms of productivity during those years. Some more flexible working career patterns could help in the later years of working life, but this matter is a topic which requires a different investiga- tion along the lines of Moir (1982) and Merrilees (1982).

With about one quarter of those who responded ex- pressing uncertainly about their future life satisfac- tion, there is an indication of the more negative side of growing older. Uncertainty is engendered by concern about physical decline and consequent inability to achieve desired goals. People now begin to do things with a limited time perspective in mind, as opposed to the unlimited time perspective of adolescence. One of the primary tasks of Pre-Retirement Education must be to facilitate realistic views of one’s ability and con- sequent personal goals. Such unrealistic expectations of what self can d o may be overly optimistic or overly pessimistic. The personal task of ageing is to balance what one can d o with what one is able to do. Pre Retirement Education can facilitate the achievement of such a balance by providing accurate information and encouraging discussion on such themes.

Stability of Evaluations Since what one person means by “very satisfied”

could possibly be entirely different from what another means, we next looked at the variation between periods within each individual’s own ratings of satisfaction. Looking at these changes in people’s perceived life satisfaction past-to-present, we find

22

some interesting differences between spouses and con- tributors. Spouses changes are significantly different from those of contributors in being less changeable and in showing less improvement in satisfaction be- tween past and present. Retirement, obviously has far more significance for the retiree than for the spouse with some retirees feeling improvement in life satisfac- tion during their early retirement years. The points for movement work in the following way:

Scale Points Case I Case 2 Case 3 Very satisfied Now

Satisfied (up 3 points) Now

Unsure I (down 2) Before Now

Dissatisfied Before Future

Very dissatisfied

1

I

I (no change) and so on

The changes between the present and the past were as follows:

~

Contributors Spouses All Collapsed Dresent 4 wints UD on the Dast 1.2 0.3 1.0 present 3 h in t s up on the past 6.1 1.3 5.0 present 2 points up on the past 6.1 3.0 5.9 36’5 present I point up on the past 25.9 20.2 24.6 present same as past evaluation 49.5 62.6 52.6 52.6 present I point down on the past 6.1 4.4 5.7

present 3 points down on the past 0.5 0.0 0.4

No valuation offered of the past 2.6 5.7 3.4

present 2 points down on the past 1.1 2.0 1.3 7.6

present 4 points down on the past 0.2 0.3 0.2

N 952 297

The picture from present to the future is quite dif- ferent, as shown below:

Contributors Spouses All Collapsed present 3 points higher than future 0.1 0.0 0.1 present 2 points higher than future 6.2 4.7 5.8 23.6 oraent I mint hieher than future 19.6 11.4 17.7 present same as future 61.8 69.7 63.7 63.7 present I point down on the future 2.2 3.0 2.4 present 2 points down on the future 0.4 0.0 0.3 2.8 present 3 points down on the future 0.1 0.0 0.1 No valuation of future offered 9.6 11.1 9.9

N 952 297 ~ ~ ~

Again spouses are significantly different from con- tributors in showing greater stability in life satisfaction evaluations and a lesser tendency for evaluations of the future to drop relative to present evaluations. A greater proportion of the sample are not prepared to evaluate the future a t all. On this particular analysis there was one siginficant difference between those who did and did not d o the course.

Nnn. Attenders Attenders All Collapsed

present 3 points higher than future 0.1 0.0 0.1 present 2 points higher than future 4.1 1.8 5.9 23.7 present I point higher than future 18.9 14.3 17.7 Diesent same as future 64.2 62.5 63.7 63.7 present 1 point down on the future 2.7 1.8 2.5 present 2 points down on the future 0.3 0.3 0.3 2.9 present 3 points-down on the future 0.0 0.3 0.1 No valuation of future offered 9.0 11.9 9.7

N 893 328

There .is a significant difference on Chi Square test (0.03 c 0.05) here. Course attenders are relatively more stable than non-attenders with 85.8 percent re- maining the same or moving only 1 point up or down, compared to 78.6 percent of non-attenders within this stable region. The non-attenders are more likely to move up or down by greater range of levels. Rather than complicate further this already complex analysis, the variations within lump sum groups were not ex- amined, so the amount of lump sum possibly affects views on the future.

Bradburn Affected Scale

Coming now to the Bradburn Affect Scale, the raw results were analyzed for differences between course attenders and non-attenders. Only one item showed a significant difference, namely course attenders were significantly more likely t o feel “particularly excited or interested in something” than non-attenders. This scale consists of five positive items and five negative items which are summed separately. There were no significant differences between the positive scores by sex of respondent or by whether or not they had at- tended a course. The summary of positive and negative total scores are shown below.

Positive Score Percent at level Negative Score Percent at level 0 14.2 0 22.4 I 13.4 - I 35.8 2 24.0 -2 37.6 3 43.1 -3 3.8 4 4.5 -4 0.3 5 0.2 -5 0.0

~

N 1257 N 1257

On the negative aspects of the scales males scored significantly differently to females but there was no consistent patterns to their scores. There were no ef- fects of the Course. Overall there was a fairly positive evaluation of “life affect” with positive scores reasonably high and negative scores reasonably low. This parallels the results from the previous analysis.

Conclusion There are mild effects of the coourse on general feel-

ings of satisfaction with life and affects towards life, namely - attenders have a more stable expectation of

future life satisfaction relative to the present; - attenders are more likely to feel “excited or in-

terested” in some aspects of retirement life.

23

However, effects were not in evidence on a range of other-variables and the comparison of contributors and spouses demonstrates the significance of the retirement event in workers’ lives and the need for pre- retirement education to alleviate some of the negative impact of the event. We expected weaker effects in these areas because of the strength of occupational and community formation of attitudes to life and retirement relative to the fleeting influence of the Pre- Retirement Programme.

Financial Matters In the first place 89.4 percent of the contributors

took their total entitlement as a lump sum. In this there were significant differences between course at- tenders and non-attenders.

Attenders Non-Atrenders Overall

All Lump Sum 89.5 89.0 89.4 Chi square All Pension I .6 4.4 2.3 probability Parr/Part 8.9 6.6 8.3 0.03 c 0.0s

688 228 916 Thus non-attenders were more likely to take all pen- sion as opposed to part pension and part lump sum compared to attenders. This may be because they were less aware of tax and other advantages from splitting or i t could be because they generally receiv- ed lower pensions. However respondents receiving low benefits indicated that they preferred lump sums because i t was not worth taking a pension. Hence this difference is probably an effect of the course.

Chi Square Significance

Pension Related Reasons: To have a regular income The pension is inflarion proof Taxation relief through

undeducted purchase price

Lump Sum Reasons: The need to have a capital

amount (“a bird in the hand”)

Security for my family upon my death

The majority of people are taking the lump sum

Lesser rates or taxation on lump sum than on pension

Opportunity to try my hand at investment management

Potential income from lump sum grtater than pension

Other reasons

No No

0.01

0.00

0.00

No

0.00

0.04

No No

Attenders

N To

I l l 16.0 5s 7.9

73 10.5

467 67.4

404 58.3

91 13.1

259 37.4

145 20.9

302 43.6 32 4.6

693

Jon- Attenders

N %

41 18

10

123

98

24

35

33

83 8

17.9 7.9

4.4

53.7

42.8

10.5

15.3

14.4

36.4 3.5

229 ‘Allenlion is drown ID differences in lump sum amounts between groups. Sce Table I .

Those who took a pension are agreed upon the reasons for so doing. They are: 1. to have a regular income; 2. the pension is inflation proof. No differences are observed between attenders and non-attenders with respect to reasons for pension choice.

On the subject of lump sums however, course at- tenders are in all cases better informed about the benefits to be gained. Significant differences occur on all the following items: - taxation relief through undeducted purchase price; - the need to have a capital amount (“a bird in the hand”); - security for my family upon my death; - lesser rate of taxation on lump sum than on pension; - opportunity to try my hand at investment management. Consequently course attenders are better able to make an informed choice of their form of benefits than non-attenders.

Overall the most popular reasons for choosing a lump sum were: 1. the need to have a capital amount - 64 percent of total group; 2. potential income from lump sum greater than pension - 41.4 percent of total group; 3. lesser rate of taxation on lump sum than on pen- sion - 31.1 percent of total group; 4. opportunity to try my hand at investment management - 19.1 percent of the total group; - all other reasons were scored by less than X of the group. We can infer from this that the attitude of most people towards receipt of a lump sum is constructive i.e., they choose it for explicit reasons and they seek to use it as capital. There must be some doubt however about how many people actually earn more than their lump sum than they would have received as their indexed pension in the long term. The short term perspective is clearly in evidence on this variable. But given some uncertainty over present Federal Taxation policy and high interest rates, it may be the appropriate one for the present time.

Given this concern, the study posed the question as to whether or not respondents felt that they had made the correct choice of the form of benefits. The results were, as follows:

Attenders Non- Attenders

Correct Yes 89. I 93.3 Choice? No 2.2 1.3

Unsure 8.7 5.3

N 687 22s

Despite the higher number of attenders claiming to be “unsure”, which might be a more honest answer, the difference was not significant. It is also unlikely

24

that mistakes would be much in evidence in the short run. Given the fact that people are unlikely to admit to making a mistake we also took the precau- tion of asking spouses whether they felt a correct choice had been made.

Ex-Conrriburor Spouse

Correa Yes 89.7 94. I Choice? No 1.9 0.0

Unsure 8.3 5 . 8

N 936 88 ~ ~~~~

Clearly, i f spouses thought an incorrect choice had been made they were not going to tell us. Over 200 spouses declined to answer the question. Thus this evidence is inconclusive.

Another topic of interest was whether all retirees had balanced portfolios of investments. One signifi- cant aspect of a balanced portfolio is to have in- vestments with varying dates of maturity. The percentages of each group in each category were as follows:

.\[renders Non-Aitenders O\erall

No Term 49.5 51.5 50.0 I year 35.8 25.6 33.3 2 years 31.4 20.7 31.0

4 years 36.9 19.4 32.5 3 years 30.9 17.6 27.6

5 years 30.5 11.2 27.2

N 689 227 916

Since what is primarily of interest is the spread of maturity dates, the number of maturity dates were scored 0-5. Further, since a greater lump sum gave greater opportunity for spreading maturity dates of investments, the spread of investments was looked at within lump sum categories. This is a very rough test of a balanced portfolio, since we did not connect the question about maturity dates with specific investments.

For the group receiving less than $150,000 lump sum, there is a tendency for course attenders to have wider spread portfolios. They have more investments

Table 2

above one year maturity dates. Unfortunately the response rates for those with iump sums above $150,000 are not good enough to ,!errnit analysis. I t would be interesting to know why this group declin- ed to answer this question. There is a secondary ef- fect of lump sum amount, with spread of in- vestments increasing with the amount of lump sums. This data is shown in Table 2.

This leads us to the question of the destinations of lump sum monies. Respondents were asked to nominate the percentage of their benefit which had been put in a wide range of investment destinations. The question was reasonably well answered despite its difficulty as shown:

Numbers

Not Anwered N 29 percent 3.1’Q

Toral adds to less than 90 percent N 96

percent 10.5ob

Toral adds to more rhan I10 percent N 13

percenr 1.70b

N 923

Thus, some 88.5% of the sample answered the ques- tion in an acceptable fashion. The results are record- ed in Table 3 .

Because of the bias between the attenders and non- attenders in the amount of lump sums, only the general picture can be considered. Further to this, the small means, large standard deviations and high numbers of zeros in each category make i t necessary to transfer in these distributions of proportions before they can be analyzed. The following general observations can be made namely: I . relatively large numbers of people have above 25

percent o f their benefits in secure but low yielding investments, namely (a) Bank Subsidiaries Debentures (b) Credit Unions (c) lnterest Bearing deposits with Banks, etc.

_____-___ ~ _ _ Lump Sum 0 to 49,999 s0,Wo to 99,999 100,ooO to 149,999 150,ooO t

No.ofDates Attenders Non-Attenders Attenders Non-Attenders Attenders Non-.henders Artenders Non-?rrrenders

0 25.2 23.1 7.5 8.8 3.8 0 33.3 0 I 47.8 57.7 40.7 52.5 21.3 32.5 66.7 0 2 19.1 14.1 19.6 18.8 30.6 40.0 0 0 3 5.2 2.6 14.0 12.5 20.9 15.0 0 0 4 2.6 7.8 0 8.9 32.2 5.0 20.1 12.8 44.3 10.0 27.5 0 0 5 0 0 5 .1 I .3 7.2 2.5 0 100 6 0 2 4.2 1.3 3.4 0

N I I5 78 214 80 235 40 3 I

0 ________._

25

Table 3

Destinations of Lump Sum Amounts To of individuals investing in this

area - excluding benefits invested in benefit)

Mean and stand deviation of proportions of total

Numbers of people investing their lump sums (percent of their total

missing values area I-25Oi0 2650% 51-75% 76-IoO%

Government Securities - Australian Savings Bonds - Commonwealth Government Securities - Semi-governmental loans Investment in Debentures - Australian Bank Subsidiaries - Others Building Society Deposits Credit Union Deposits

Shares - $lining - Industrial Investment with Banks (eq IBDs) Purchase of Primary Residence Purchase of Secondary Residence Purchase of Investment Propeny Improvement of Home Purchase of a Motor Vehicle Holidays Loans, gifts or assistance Repayment of Debts

Purchase of personal entertainment

Purchase or investment in business

General expenses (Savings, Cheque

Others

equipment

concern

Accounts)

To Mean Standard N N N N 22.5 6.12 15.9 91 41 9 I I

5.4 1.51 8.7 8 8 3 3 26.6 8.91 19.2 78 68 24 13

36.6 14.28 24.4 94 95 41 29 16.2 4.42 14.1 60 24 I ! 9 27.9 4.14 13.9 156 24 3 10 41.8 13.23 23.0 163 73 34 28

5.9 6.2

39.9 18.6 7.5

10.1 33.6 29.6 36.2 35.2 7.5

0.50 0.73

13.95 5.24 2.02 4.34 2.09 2.47 2.84 5.77 0.60

2.8 4.5

25.5 15.4 8.3

16.1 9.3 7.6 6.0

13.7 3.5

23 24

I36 64 13 I I

223 20 I 244 197 34

3 - - 2 2 -

74 32 42 35 13 10 21 3 I 26 8 13

7 1 5 2 0 3

I 1 I 0 36 9 6 3 1 0

9.4 0.52 4.4 50 0 I I

2.0 0.48 4.8 10 2 2 I

27.0 3.51 11.7 160 4 I 2 4.5 0.82 5.9 8 4 1 2

Answering Correctly Not Answering Correctly

759 164

TOTAL 923

2. large numbers of people use up to 25 percent of their benefits in either consumer durables or in leisure consumption namely: (a) home improvements, (b) motor vehicles, (c) holidays, (d) general expenses this generally indicates a “steady hand” in spending money.

3. direct involvement in investments, such as in shares or in business concerns is not significant - given the high risk of such areas, this is a sound policy.

These results can be compared with those of Knox (1981), who does not publish his response rates for the study. Knox found a much higher spending on holidays than is observed here. It was by far his most popular investment item whereas it is the fourth most popular item in the present study. Our most popular item (in terms of individuals investing in the area) was

Credit Union deposits which does not appear in Knox’s “too ten” items. By comparison with the popularity of semi-governmental loans observed here, Knox found, with his Commonwealth Public Service retirees, a similar taste for Commonwealth Government Securities. We would expect to find effects of occupation on the spending of lump sums along with an effect of the amount of the lump sum itself. This will be the subject of further investigations on this topic.

Summary of Financial Matters - Course attenders are more likely t o have explicit

reasons for choosing a lump sum than non- attenders. This can be seen as an effect of the Retirement Preparation Programme.

- There must be some concern about the high numbers expecting to earn more money from lump sums than they would receive in pensions. Further investigation of this is needed for the long run.

I

26

- Course attenders tended to have a wider spread of maturity dates on investments than non-attenders, which is suggestive of better balanced investment portfolios. This is a probable effect of the Retirement Preparation Programme. Besides spending up to 25 percent of benefits in areas such as personal property and leisure expenses, participants are generally conservative in investment choosing secure fixed interest investments as their primary areas of investment. They are “risk averters”.

Summary of Results As indicated at the outset, the primary purpose of

these investigations was to evaluate the Retirement Preparation Programmes provided by the Fund. Given the possible bias of self selection into course attendance, there seems to be good evidence showing that the course is effective.

The minimal position is unassailable. For those who choose to attend the programme, for whatever reasons, there is a perceived gain in two areas - useful information and personal development. However to overtly instrumental an approach ot people ap- proaching the course probably needs creative redevelopment during the programme to deal with the emotional side of retirement. In this effort new American styles of courses (Tiberi et al 1978) have much to offer. Further to this, Lynch (1979) provides a broad educational perspective within which to view various educational auuroaches. Selzer (1977) argues that the most crucial factors in running a programme are: I . good and pertinent course materials; 2. field experiences permitting direct exposure to

older people under supervised conditions; and 3. enthusiastic, dedicated, and competent teachers.

These factors need to be taken into account with special groups as well as for the average retiree. For example, people retiring for health reasons may need special counselling, whilst blue collar retirees may respond better to courses run at their place of work rather than in a prestigious setting. These issues require fur ther investigation a n d controlled experimentation. In this a primary goal must be to preserve the thrust of a programme that is working well, within its limits of audience and resources. On the topic of real life effects of courses, there are

some difficulties for the investigator as already described. It is probable that the Pre-retirement Programme had effects in the following areas: - making and revising Wills; - advising against changing ones place of residence; - in opening up action options with respect to paid

- in holding more stable expectations of future life

- in feeling excited o r interested in some aspect of

- in making a rational choice of the form of benefits; - in spreading the maturity dates of investments to

work, voluntary work and leisure;

satisfaction;

their retirement lives;

seek balance in their investment portfolios.

These d o give a good indication of the spread of possible effects. The one word of caution is that we have used imperfect ins t ruments t o make measurements of very complex phenomena. Thus we can say that there is evidence that Retirement Preparation Programmes in Australia d o have effects. However the results here are in need of corroboration by random assignment studies or studies using Pretests on comparison groups. In particular, the differences between course attenders and non-attenders on lump sum amount and self reported health are a cause of concern. Whilst they are capable of alternative explanation, they may well indicate systematic bias in course attendance. This matter could be put beyond doubt by a random assignment study.

With this proviso, it can be claimed that the Pre- Retirement Programme has been effective in achieving significant goals and in no cases has it had undesirable effects. The public concern with what people have in their retirement seems to have overshadowed the equally important question of what use people make of whatever they have. I finish on the observations made on this topic by the renowned Andrew Carnegie’, made when he retired in March of 1901:

M y resolve was made in youth to retire before old age. From what I have seen around me 1 cannot doubt the wisdom of this course, although the change is great, even serious, and seldom brings the happiness expected. But this is so because so many, having abundance to retire upon, have so little to retire to. The fathers in olden days taught that a man should have time before the end of his career for the “making of his soul”, I have always felt that old age should be spent not, as the Scotch say, in “making mickle mair”. but in making good use of what has been acquired . . .

These comments have a timeless air about them.

FOOTNOTE I Clipping, Pittsburgh Post, March 14. 1901, quoting letter in Pittsburgh Dispatch, March 12, 1901. Carnegie Papers, Manuscript Division. Library of Congress, Washington D.C., Box 269, Scrapbook, “Misc. Clippings, 2/4/01-4/17/02.’’

REFERENCES Bowman, D. L. (1974). A longitudinal comparison of attitudes and

activity involvement of persons who have completed a pre- retirement planning program, PhD Thesis, Iowa State University.

Cokinda, R. M. (1974), An identification of differences between par- ticipating and non-participating automobile workers in a pre- retirement program, PhD dissertation. Wayne State University.

Glamser, F. D. and,DeJong, 0.. (1975). The Efficacy of Pre- Retirement Preparation Programs for Industrial Workers, Journal of Gerontology, 39 (5) . 595-600.

Heron, A. (19621, Preparation for retirement: a new phase in occupa- tional development, Occupational Psychology, 36 ( I ,2): 1-9.

Kasschau, P . (1974). “Re-evaluating the need for retirement prepara- tion programs”. Industrial Gerontology, Winter, 42-59.

Knox, D. M. (1981). The Spending of Lump Sum Retirement Benefits. Superfunds. June.

Lvnch. J . H . (1979). Pre-Retirement Education - Issuer in Nomenclature and Methodology. Eduentlonal Gerontology, 4.

McCallum. J. (1981), The Effectiveness 01 Retirement Preparation: The Evangelists’ Dilemma. Griffith University, School of Social and Industrial Administration. Occasional Paper.

Merrilees. W . J . (1982). The Mass Exodus of Older Males from the Labour Force an Exploratory Analysis. Australian Bulletin of Labour 8(2). 81-94.

31 5-331.

27

Moir. H . (1982). Age ciruclurc ol’ induscrie\ and [he posiiion of older Selrter, M . 51. (1977). DilTcrcniial Impaci o f Various Experiences on men i n ilie labour mar le l . Australian Bulletin of I.ahuur. 8(3). Breaking DON 11 Age Sicrcoiypes. Educational Gcronlolopy 2, 156- 175. 183-189.

Nalional Rcrearch Inriiiuie 0 1 Geroniolopy and Geriairic Medicine Siegel. S. R. and J . \ t . Rile\ (1980). l’re-Retiremeill Programme\. (197X). An Evalualion of Ihc Telerom (Vie) Pre-Kclirrmrnl Plun- niog Coursc. Rcporl Unpublished. Tiheri. D. $1. BoyacL, V . L . and Kcrschncr. P . A. (1970. A Com-

O’Rourke. J . F. and Friedman. H, L. (1972). An inicr-union prc- paralive A n a l y h or Four I’rc-Rciiremenl Educaiion Models. retiremen1 [raining program: Rcrulis and commeniary, Indurlrial Gernntnlngy , Spring. 49-64.

Rives. J . M. and S. R. Siegcl (1980). OUI 10 Grass. A Tran,allaniic Look at Pre-Reiiremenl Programme\. Pcrsonnel Munapcmenl, School OJ Sociul uild Indits/riu/ , ‘ l ( l ~ ~ ~ ; ~ t ; ~ / r u / ~ f ~ i ~ February. 42-44. GrrJfifh Uii;wrsi/.v

wiihin Service F i r m . AEing and Work. 3(3), 183-191.

Educnlional Gcronlology. 3(4) , 355-374.

J. McCullro~~

AGEING AND INCOME SUPPORT Adam Jamrozik

In this paper, I will consider four aspects of income support for the aged: the significance of income in retirement and old age; the allocation of funds by the Commonwealth for assistance to the aged; the issue of equity in the allocations; and the possible op- tions for change in the present system of allocations.

Income Conventionally, we speak of income as so many

dollars a week or a year. Such perception of income is rather truncated, for weekly income accounts for only one aspect of income, although for some people this may be the only or the most important aspect. Income consists of a of resources, a stock of assets, and the access to goods and s e r v i c e s . z t h i s reason, a w e e k l y n s i o n as a measure of income is not the only dimension of income support for the aged any more than weekly earnings are the only dimension of income a person derives from employment.

These three aspects of income are more important for the aged than for other age groups because the ag- ed have reduced options for finding alternative sources of income; for example, they cannot easily find a job, and even if they physically could d o this they are not expected or allowed to do it. In considering income support for the aged i t is therefore necessary to include the three aspects of income. Furthermore, because of the reduced options available to the aged, the issue of income for the aged has to be seen in time dimension so as to identify the antecedents of the conditions experienced by the aged. For in our society the notion of preparing oneself for retirement has now been im- printed in people’s minds. However, the question whether everyone is capable of doing so, especially in terms of financial security, receives less attention.

Income for people who can no longer work in paid employment, that is no longer “produce”, is signifi- cant in that their social role is essentially reduced to one dimension, that of consumers. The possession of means to consume goods and services determines the kind of life the aged person will have, other aspects such as health being equal. The consumption pattern of the aged is somewhat different from that of other age groups. They may consume less food but more health services and pharmaceutical products. They use public transport. Those who have the means become consumers of profit-making ventures in the tourist in- dustry, retirement villages, private nursing homes. Now, it seems, the aged have become an attractive

proposition for investment industry (not to mention the tax avoidance industry). Last week the Sydney Morning Herald ran a five day series of articles as a “comprehensive guide for people receiving pensions or who are about to retire”. On the same pages were 24 advertisements: five advertised accommodation for purchase or rent in retirement villages; the remaining 19 advertised investment opportunities, usually fram- ed in the mode of “how to minimise tax and keep the pensions and concessions”.

I will return to some of these issues later. Now, 1 want to consider some specific issues of income sup- port. Adam Graycar has identified four sources of support; statutory, commercial, non-government welfare organisations, and informal. These sources of support are not discrete mutually exclusive categories: some people may have access to all four, others may be reduced to two or only one. The important thing to note is that the state through the instrument of govern- ment can provide income support - in all its three dimensions - not only directly through statutory pro- visions but it can facilitate or directly finance provi- sions through any or all of the other three sources. The government does this in many ways: i t provides the concessions for superannuation contributions and ear- nings thus allowing employers and self-employed per- sons to count the contributions to their own or their employees’ retirement income as production cost. I t provides tax concessions of all kinds. It supports non- government welfare organisations by funds and by tax concessions. Comparatively - little is being done to facilitate income support for the aged through the in- formal source, that is through the family and kinship networks. Yet, there are numerous possibilities for provisions through that source. For example, it would cost as much, or often less, to build a “granny flat” as to build a comparable flat in a “home for the aged”, and the cost of nursing at home may be in some cases cheaper than nursing in a formal nursing home.

It is true that the aged find it difficult, and sometimes impossible, to live with their families. But we seem to accept this proposition with an attitude akin to fatalism. Possibilities here could be considered as alternatives. Some answers would be found by giv- ing more attention to the conditions of living ex- perienced by contemporary families rather than focussing attention on the aged in isolation from the rest of society. I t would not be necessary t o go as far as the government of Singapore is proposing to do - to make it compulsory for famities to take care of their

2a