Australia’s latest annual death numbers confirm the “silver tsunami” that’s been building on our horizon for years has finally arrived. Baby Boomers, who entered the world in an optimistic postwar birth rate explosion, are heading into their 80s and starting to exit the world. Their youngest members have reached the traditional retirement age of 65.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the nation recorded 188,421 deaths last year, the highest since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to economics writer Matt Wade. This figure is expected to keep rising and close in on the number of births, led by our population of ageing Boomers.
This marks a major tipping point for our nation. One of the most significant demographic shifts in modern history, it will trigger a cascade of serious economic, health and workforce challenges for Australia to navigate in the years ahead.
But while Boomers are often stereotyped as wealthy and selfish old villains who have ruined the lives of younger generations, their true impact on the world should not be underestimated.
In the 1960s and 1970s they were the hippies who joined civil rights and feminist movements, protesting against war and shaping the counter-culture movement. They moved rock’n’roll into the mainstream, drove economic prosperity, and were the tech pioneers who built the foundations of today’s digital world.
Gen Z and Millennials, who popularised the viral “OK, Boomer” retort, may have more in common with them than they realise.
Nevertheless, the undeniable reality is that the Boomers’ migration into the final chapter of life creates enormous pressure on our economy. As high earners they contribute large amounts of tax, which will fall as they exit the workforce, and die, and put strain on the budget.
At the same time, demand on our already-stretched health and aged care systems will surge as they age and become more prone to illness and frailty. Australians have a life expectancy that is among the highest in the world and continues to grow, so younger Boomers can expect to have decades ahead of them. They were, after all, the generation who created a health and fitness revolution that spawned televised lycra-clad aerobics, mainstream jogging and gym chains.
As KPMG economist Terry Rawnsley notes: “In the past generations people might have passed away in their 70s or 80s but thanks to medical advances and the way people are more aware of their own health, [this] has helped many push into that 90s range, which will help drive up life expectancy.”
This dilemma we face is highlighted in the federal Treasury’s 2026 Intergenerational Report, which predicts our ageing population will weigh on labour force participation long-term and contribute to a more service-based economy.
Given the glaringly obvious need for a well-resourced aged care workforce prepared to support a new generation now coming through the gates, migration cuts need to be carefully managed for unintended consequences, especially for workers on temporary or student visas. According to the government’s own Aged Care Worker Survey, 43 per cent of aged care workers were born overseas. Boomers could pay a price if more short-sighted or radical options are implemented.
There are some buffers to the impending shift: Boomers are our wealthiest retirees ever, which means many can afford to offset some of their anticipated health and aged care costs, though this is subject to policy challenges.
Typical of a generation that switched rocking chairs for skydiving, Boomers aren’t behaving like their predecessors and retiring with a gold watch on their 65th birthday. They are working much longer on average, sometimes stretching into their late 70s, providing a welcome pressure valve on the workforce exodus.
A proportion of Boomers’ wealth – much of which was accumulated in a property market where the average home rocketed in value from under $100,000 in the 1980s to about $1 million today – is also on the move. As they downsize and move capital into superannuation and cash, more than $3.5 trillion is expected to be handed down to younger generations over the next two decades in what has been described as the biggest intergenerational transfer of wealth in our history.
While there are understandable concerns about this transfer widening wealth inequality in Australia, it will put younger generations in a better position to withstand and help fund the years ahead. More broadly, visionary policy will be required not just to manage pressure on health and aged care but to ensure our economic foundations can support a society where living longer can go hand in hand with living well.
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