As the number of Australians aged 50 years and above increases, it is becoming more important to understand how these senior Australians view their own lives, as well as life in Australia more generally. 

In partnership with Challenger, National Seniors has developed the Seniors Sentiment Index to assess the wellbeing of senior Australians with respect to their social, financial and health wellbeing now and in the future.

The inaugural Seniors Sentiment Index draws its findings from a survey of around 2,000 people over the age of 50.

With this Index, we plan to decompose the aspects important to wellbeing in later life – such as social wellbeing and health – in addition to financial wellbeing. Further, we will assess differences across a range of socio-economic and demographic characteristics and, importantly, use this first measurement of the Index as a baseline from which we can track the Index over time.

Assessment of trends in the Index will illustrate how the circumstances of senior Australians change through successive governments, policy changes and exogenous policy shocks.

While most older Australians report overall satisfaction with their lives, rising living costs - from home maintenance to the weekly food shop - have them worrying about making ends meet both now and into the future.