Negotiating assets in a financialised retirement income system: Evidence from older mixed-sex couple households in Australia

Austen, Siobhan; Himmelweit, Susan; Sharp, Rhonda and Costa, Monica (2024). Negotiating assets in a financialised retirement income system: Evidence from older mixed-sex couple households in Australia. In: Bennett, Fran; Avram, Silvia and Austen, Siobhan eds. A Research Agenda for Financial Resources within the Household. Edward Elgar, pp. 209–224.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781802204001.00023

Abstract

How older couples negotiate decisions over financial assets is a research gap of growing significance for both knowledge and policy formation. As part of a global trend towards financialisation, many countries have increased the role of financial markets and institutions in their retirement income systems. Individuals have been ascribed financial motives and tasked with making decisions about how to invest retirement savings and when to draw down assets in retirement. However, that such decisions are commonly made by members of a household, affecting the wellbeing of all its members, has generally been ignored in debates about retirement income. This chapter draws on evidence from in-depth interviews to examine how older mixed-sex couples negotiate decisions about assets in Australia, where retirement incomes were financialised relatively early. The chapter discusses implications for policy on retirement income and gender equity, and outlines future directions for research on older couple households’ money management.

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