by Andrew Potts.  Article appeared in Gold Coast Bulletin 16 February 2018.
Image: Artist impression of aged-care project planned by Japara Healthcare on Scottsdale Dve, Robina

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The Golden Age

THE Coast’s booming over-65s market is bringing economic Gold to the region, with new data revealing just how valuable it is for the city.

Numbers crunched by economists at insurance giant HIH show the city’s post-retirement community will inject $3.5 billion into the local economy over the next five years.

The stunning figure was reached on the back of data showing the rate of growth of the market, which is growing and spending more locally than ever before.

The boom is set to inspire an infrastructure spend from city hall as part of this year’s post-Commonwealth Games
council budget. Leading demographer Mark McCrindle hailed the increasing market as the result of the city’s desirable lifestyle for interstate residents keen to move north and long-term residents downsizing.

He said the Gold Coast’s overall population growth was favourable compared with Brisbane. The Coast grew
12 per cent and the state capital 10 per cent between the 2011 and 2016 censuses.

“The Gold Coast is the retirement hotspot, with the overall population as well as the over-65s growing faster
than the national average of 8.8 per cent and of Brisbane which grew 10 per cent,” he said.

Census data shows 70 is the new 50, with over-65s having average individual net wealth of $1.4 million. Mr McCrindle said the economic growth was likely to continue as more people made the move to unit living.

“Never before have we seen a generation of retirees with wealth like this and while much of it is in the family homes, as people start to downsize we are seeing the money move,” he said.

“This is going to grow in the future because the Gold Coast offers an urban lifestyle as well as a sea-change for people.

“They are not living the retirement lifestyle of pensioners. They are downsizing their homes but stepping up
their lifestyle.”

Census figures show the number of over-65s living in the city grew 28 per cent between 2011 and 2016.

This brought an extra 21,000 older people to the city, increasing the number of over-65s to nearly 94,000.

People aged over 65 make up 16.5 per cent of the population, up from 14.1 per cent.

“It shows there are more than 4000 retirees moving to the Gold Coast every year and that is significant,” Mr McCrindle said.

Mayor Tom Tate said the data was “astonishing” and would influence how this year’s council budget was tailored. The $1.5 billion budget, to be brought down in late June, will likely have a greater focus on improving infrastructure for older residents.

“The money these people spend here is also welcome because it generates jobs for the next generation as well,” Cr
Tate said. “It is not an area we have really focused on in our economic development policy but we should because it will be a good investment.

“This data is useful to hear as we begin the budget process because if the data is showing the over-65s market is growing, then our infrastructure spend should reflect this demographic shift.”

The council last week launched community consultation on the budget to determine what will shape the 2018-19 budget, the first to be delivered after the Commonwealth Games.

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