INTHEBLACK July 2026 - Magazine - Page 30
F E AT U R E
“There is this massive shift from
the accumulation phase of superannuation
to the drawdown phase,” says Guest. “So,
there is an increasing need for superannuation
policies that provide long-term income and
insure against longevity risk.”
For governments, the qualifying age
for the age pension may be a moving target.
If people stay in the workforce for longer,
it could reduce government spending
and increase tax revenue.
“Incentives to work longer include allowing
voluntary superannuation contributions to
be made up to age 75, without meeting a
work test,” says Mardiasmo.
It is worth noting government interventions
such as baby bonuses to boost the birthrate
typically have limited effect.
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30 INTHEBLACK July 2026
CHAMPIONING WOMEN
It is also critical for organisations and
economies to think about strengthening the
factors that will bring more women into
the labour market.
“The women who are not working now,
who we would expect to integrate into the
labour market, are probably the people who
are choosing or constrained to spend more
of their time on caring responsibilities,”
says Suneha Seetahul, senior research fellow
at the Australian Centre for Gender Equality
and Inclusion at Work, University of Sydney.
“So we need to shift the trade-off these
women face between paid work and care
by making work more attractive. This means
good-quality jobs with options for flexibility,
because women mostly carry the burden
of care responsibilities.
“We also need to encourage fathers to take
paternity leave and focus on family life,”
she adds.
Improved programs that support parents
to be able to go back to the workforce, such
as enhanced childcare arrangements, are vital.
“The Scandinavian countries have had
more success keeping their fertility rates
higher than elsewhere,” says Bloxham.
“That is partly because there are good
programs for supporting women to go back
into the workforce and there is very strong
support for the division between men
and women looking after their children.
That can help to support higher fertility rates.”
It will be important for all levels of
government to encourage healthy living
as people age to counter lower birthrates.
“This is a really very interesting area,”
Bloxham continues. “At a fundamental level,
we all want to have a population that is able
to live longer, healthier lives. That needs to
be a fundamental public policy initiative.
It keeps people out of the health system
and keeps costs lower. It can keep people
in the labour force for longer, contributing
to the economy and the tax base.”
With evidence more people are staying
in the workforce for longer or coming
back to the workforce at an older age, there
is an opportunity to support more of these
behaviours to redress the economic effects
of declining birth rates. “It is difficult
to discern why this is happening,” says
Mardiasmo. “It could be people are carrying
more debt later into life. But the other
possibility is we have got a fairly healthy
older population and they can be in the
workforce for longer. That is a positive,
because being in the workforce helps to
deal with the ageing population challenge.” ■
