A TSUNAMI of social change is about to crash over Queensland as the rush of baby boomers reaching retirement age sees the number of people aged 65-plus more than double over the next two decades.

The impacts on family life, work, housing, transport and other aspects of life will be unprecedented, says Dr Alison Taylor, principal demographer with the Queensland Treasury’s Office of Economic and Statistical Research.

“The complexities and far-ranging implications of the population ageing issue have yet to be fully appreciated,” Dr Taylor said. “The Queensland population is growing rapidly, but the number of older people is the fastest-growing segment. That has widespread implications for all sorts of government services, but also for our community.”

Currently, one in eight people are aged 65 or older. By 2031, it will be one in five and by 2056, one in four.

Even more startling is an expected six-fold increase in the number of people aged 80-plus, from 138,609 today to 844,795 by 2056. Presently only 3 per cent of the population, octogenarians and older will account for one in 20 by 2031, and one in 10 by 2056.

That may produce a reversal of the trend of recent decades as people moved away from parents and other relatives.

The location and design of housing will be a critical factor.

“At the moment, we are building a lot of houses on the fringe of cities,” Dr Taylor said. “It may be cheaper to move the services out to those areas.”

Transport will be a major issue as more drivers in their older years face losing their licences through health issues.

Perhaps the biggest challenge was the unpredictability of baby boomers.

“Baby boomers have never done anything their predecessors have done,” she said.

“A large number of baby boomers will retire to the coast and a large proportion will become grey nomads and some retire to tree-change locations.”

If you SUBSCRIBE to our BONZA LIFE newsletter you will be aware that BONZA supports these comments and encourages individuals and governements to plan for our future. Our thanks to the Brisbane Courier-Mail for this artcile. Editor BONZA