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Craig Doyle, 61, turned to property investment to fund his retirement. But instead he’s lost money, and has to keep working for longer.
When 10 years ago, he was advised to convert the funds into
“Supposed to be easy, perceived as secure,” Craig told Insight.
In total, Craig’s portfolio contained five properties, with a net worth of around $3 million.
However, his financial position was far from secure.
In fact, each property was creating more debt than profit due to mortgage costs, interest rate rises, rental freezes, land taxes, upkeep costs and a stagnant apartment market.
“We were losing $15,000 a quarter funding our investment properties over the last nearly three years,” Craig said.
He made the tough decision to sell off his properties — his retirement fund — one by one.
“We sold most of our properties at a loss,” he said.
‘One illness away from homelessness’
For many baby boomers, owning a home outright enables housing security in retirement.
But for some, that security seems out of reach.
Angus, 64, is a city planner but is also unsure how he will support himself in retirement. He’s still paying off his mortgage and has virtually no superannuation.
Angus Witherby is a city planner who says he can’t afford to retire.
“I’m not wealthy.. I’m dependent on my own business for income because there’s nobody else who will give me a job,” Angus told Insight.
“At this stage, best projections are I’m going to have to work till 75 to pay off the mortgage and other debt.”
With retirement looming and less than $3,000 in his superannuation, Angus is unsure how he will support himself.
“I have no security in my future … I’m one illness away from homelessness.”
There’s a stereotype of cashed-up boomers retiring with a bountiful super balance and portfolio of investment properties.
But Angus says this image doesn’t apply to people like him.
So, how did Angus get to his point?
“Two very expensive divorces,” he said.
“At one stage, with my first marriage, we had an investment property and a share portfolio.
“I lost both the investment property, the house and the share portfolio … and came out with negative net worth.”
Not all boomers are wealthy
Associate professor Myra Hamilton at the University of Sydney researches Australia’s ageing population and issues impacting the baby boomer generation.
“The idea of the wealthy generation is not the reality for some baby boomers,” Myra told Insight.
“About one in six baby boomers don’t own their own home.”
While much of the baby boomer generation’s wealth is tied up in property, around one in six boomers don’t own their own home.
Myra says women aged 55 and over are one of the fastest-growing groups of people facing homelessness, partly due to barriers in the workforce.
“There is a burgeoning number of people in their 50s and 60s in receipt of [the] JobSeeker allowance,” she said.
“So this issue of homogenising the generation, actually really conceals the group of baby boomers who aren’t represented in this idea of the wealthy boomer.”
Economist Evan Luca says while there is a generational wealth disparity boomers have seen a considerable amount of favourable policy in their lifetime.
Superannuation, capital gains tax and have all contributed to boomers holding an estimated $1.9 trillion in wealth.
“To put that into consideration, that is a tick shy of the entire wealth of the Australian ASX 200. So that’s all the big four banks, Telstra, Woolworths — take your pick — it’s about $2.1 trillion, and boomers are worth $1.9 trillion,” Evan told Insight.
And about 40 per cent of that wealth is held in property, he said.
Dying without debt
is a frequent enabler of boomers’ children entering an otherwise unaffordable property market, Angus says he doesn’t even have enough money to support himself.
“I wish was something I was able to do,” Angus said.
Unable to retire any time soon, he has had to rely on his children for financial support at times.
“I feel as though the best outcome now is leaving my children without debt,” he said.
“I don’t want to burden my kids with that.”
Meanwhile, Craig was looking forward to a free and easy life in retirement, but that remains out of reach, despite his “reasonable salary”.
“We would have been grey nomading by now,” he said.
“But that’s been put back four or five years. It is what it is.”
* An earlier version of this story was published in July 2024.
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