What's wrong with the image? (The big retirement lie?)

Ten years ago I did a study into ageing and wealth. At the time, I called the study "old poor and lonely" – given this more or less summed up the picture for the typical retiree. Surely, a decade later on, things have much improved?

It depends on where you sit. Only a third of people aged 65 today are what you'd call self-funded retirees (in that they do not rely on the pension). This doesn't mean they are well off though: fewer than 10% of superannuation accounts of people retiring today are of more than $1million. The superannuation industry tells us that for a "comfortable" retirement, you should ideally have around $700k in super for a couple. This assumes you own your own home outright. The median (halfway point) of superannuation accounts of 65-year-old male today is only around $250k. For women, it's less – around $180k to $200k. So half the retiring population has less than that. Think about that.

Roughly two thirds of today's 65-year-olds will retire with some sort of age pension – full or partial. Those who are primarily reliant on the age pension are roughly half the retirees.

Dig further into the stats and we find that around one in seven retire as renters. This is much higher amongst singles, especially women. Around 60% to 70% retire owning their home with no mortgage, and the rest have a mortgage going into retirement.

Around in one four of today's retiring 65-year-olds are single. This increases for older cohorts because women live on average longer than men. And while on that, those retiring at 65 today can expect on average to live another 20 years. That's a lot of retirement to fund.

For the typical Aussie retiree in 2026 it's not a brilliant picture. Of course, the super industry, financial advisors, cruise ship marketers (!) and others who feed from the retirement savings of Australians will typically invest more energy targeting the top 10% with solid super balances and who own their own homes. Preferably expensive ones.

For the rest, however, who may have slogged through life in jobs that put stresses on their bodies, or who lived in rural and regional areas, or even those who lived in the big cities but on modest incomes – retirement will be a long way from the happy images of pastel cardigan wearing white haired seniors with perfect teeth strolling the beach with their designer dog and not a care in the world.

Who can blame them for their political annoyance when they read of extensive NDIS fraud, bungled infrastructure projects costing billions, wasteful government advertising, unrestrained immigration or outrageous salaries for senior Canberra bureaucrats or University Vice Chancellors? Little wonder so many seem have drifted to the angry political corner of One Nation.

Australia is moving away from its more egalitarian roots to a society where a smaller number of haves are calling the shots. Half the country shares in only 5% of the national wealth. The wealthiest 10% control about half the nation's wealth. The retirement story reflects this divide.

Sure, for those with small super accounts but who own the family home, there are 'downsizing' provisions which allow them to tip an extra $300k per person ($600k for a couple) into super if they sell the family home. But they still need to live somewhere, and the options for seniors are limited. An independent living unit will set you back typically around $500k, and easily more for the more salubrious product. Plus there are the weekly fees and the deferred management fee to think of. The industry caters more for the higher end.

If you have to move into aged care later in life, the options shrink again. Just getting a place in aged care can be harder than getting your first born into an exclusive private school: waiting lists have a different meaning if you're in your late 80s and urgently need supported living. The state of our aged care system in Australia and some of the abundant horror stories tell you that, unless you're reasonably wealthy, you'd probably prefer to be dead than going into some of the aged care places.

Why my sense of dismay? I'm not painting a picture of my own future (at least I hope not) but I am deeply saddened that a nation with such abundant wealth and resources has so dismally failed the generations that helped build that very wealth for others to squander. In the ten years since 'Old, poor and lonely' it looks very much as if we have done little to change what was a predictable future.

Clint Eastwood famously said, "getting old is not for sissys." But that doesn't mean we should make it a herculean challenge for those who live through it.