Perceptions and Expenditure Patterns - Social Policy Research ...

Figure 3Deviationfrommean(std dev)0.60.50.40.30.20.10-0.1-0.2-0.3Average financial satisfaction and prosperity by ageSatisfaction with financial situationPerceived prosperity45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65-69 70-74 75-79 80+AgeNotes: Source HILDA survey, pooled cross-section data from waves 1 to 6. Both variables are standardised tomean of zero and variance of one.Figure 4 shows the proportion of the population aged 45 and over who reported different forms offinancial hardship. The measures generally decrease with age, 9 again, despite the decrease inincome. For the two measures describing not being able to pay bills on time, the rate among the 65-69 age group is slightly higher than that among the 60-64 age group, suggesting some problems inadjusting to new lower income levels. There is also an indication of these measures increasing in theoldest two age groups, particularly with respect to asking for help from welfare or communityorganisations. However, even though the question asks about this help in the context of a shortageof money, it is possible that people interpret it to mean asking for help because of disability or illnessrather than because of financial need per se.9The slope of the decrease is greater for those measures that have higher initial levels of hardship. However,in proportionate terms (e.g. when using a log vertical scale) the slopes are similar for all the measures(except where the ‘asking for help from welfare organizations’ measure turns up).10