Facts and Figures

Population

• There are approximately 1.12 million people aged over 60 in NSW in 2002 (35% of the national total). 840,500 people are aged over 65.
• By 2021, nearly 18% of people (1.3 million) in NSW will be over the age of 65.
  

Work

• On average, people in NSW work until the age of 58.
• There are currently 124,000 people aged 60 and over in NSW who are still working.
• 60% are working full-time, the majority are men.
  

Wealth

• Over three-quarters of people aged 60 and over own their own home.
• People aged 65 and over hold 27% of the total household wealth in Australia.
• Around 30% of older people gain most of their income from superannuation, property or investments.
  

Lifestyle

• On average, older people have more leisure time than any other age group.
• 75% of seniors travelled last year, 80% want to travel now or in the near future.
• Australia’s 2.97 million older people spend $895 million on domestic travel annually.
• This figure is expected to grow to $2.3 billion by 2051.
• A Seniors Card survey indicated that 61% of members ate at a club an average of 4.5 times during the year and 75% drove a motor car.
  

Crime

• NSW crime statistics show that older people are less likely to have crimes committed against them than any other age group.
• The biggest victims of crime are young men aged 18-25 years.
   

Information Technology

• Older people are the fastest growing age group among information technology users.
• One in every five older people has a computer at home
• 13% of older people use the Internet on a regular basis.

Volunteering

• Over 90% of older people continue to live in their community and are active, healthy and participate in their local community.
• Older people contribute significantly to the development and social capital of their communities by volunteering their time, skills and experience.
• Over 30% of older people aged 65-74 act as volunteers in their community, contributing on average two and a half hours per week of their time.
• Nearly 18% of the 75+ age group still volunteer more than two hours a week.
   

Health

• Around 160,000 older people (approximately one in five) care for a partner, another family member, friend or neighbour.
• One quarter (25%) of older carers are primary carers – that is, they provide the majority of care to a person, compared with one fifth (20%) of all carers.
• 90% of primary carers aged 65 and over live with the person for whom they care. 
• 75% of these carers are most likely to be caring for a spouse.
• 76% of older primary carers are women.