Housing wealth and aged care: asset-based welfare in practice in three OECD countries

The transition of the baby boomer bulge into old age and their increasing longevity will lift the numbers of elderly in residential aged care. Population ageing and associated fiscal pressures have motivated governments to shift responsibility for the financing of aged care to the individual. We consider policies that include owner-occupiers’...

Housing Equity Withdrawal: Perceptions of Obstacles among Older Australian Home Owners and associated Service Providers

Housing wealth dominates the asset portfolios of the older population in Australia and many other countries. Given the anticipated spike in fiscal costs associated with population ageing, there is growing policy interest in housing equity withdrawal (HEW) to finance living needs in retirement. This paper sheds light on homeowners’ perceptions...

Housing Wealth and Aged Care: Issues and Options

Housing Wealth and Aged Care: Policies Compared

Mortgage equity withdrawal in Australia: Recent trends, institutional settings and perspectives

Australian tax preferences and asset test concessions have traditionally favoured wealth accumulation in the primary home, with added impetus lent by a decade-long period of sustained house price appreciation prior to the Global Financial Crisis. The primary home is increasingly viewed by governments worldwide as a key store of wealth that can...

Housing equity withdrawal in Australia

More Australian home owners are using housing equity withdrawal to unlock financial resources to fund living expenses, especially in retirement. Policy is needed to address potential adverse consequences of these strategies.