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Intergenerational inequity arguments and the implications for state-funded financial support of older people

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 December 2015

KAREN HURLEY ,
MARY BREHENY  and
KEITH TUFFIN
KAREN HURLEY
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
MARY BREHENY*
Affiliation:
School of Public Health, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
KEITH TUFFIN
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
*
Address for correspondence: Mary Breheny, School of Public Health, Massey University, Private Bag 11 222, Palmerston North, New Zealand E-mail: M.R.Breheny@massey.ac.nz
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Abstract

As population demographics shift towards an older population structure in the Western world, concerns about the future costs of pensions are apparent in politics, media and everyday conversations. In New Zealand, the universal state-funded pension paid to all citizens over the age of 65 years is often considered to be unsustainable in the context of population ageing. To examine the arguments surrounding universal superannuation, rhetorical analysis was undertaken on two New Zealand newspaper articles that discussed the future cost of pensions, and the 233 public responses these articles generated. The cost of superannuation was used to emphasise the different characteristics of each generational cohort and the ways that this produced inequity across generations. Claims of intergenerational inequity generated antagonism and widened divisions between generational groups. Foregrounding generational inequity in the discussion of superannuation has profound implications for state-funded income support for older people which relies upon widespread public support. Intergenerational inequity ignores the significant inequity in health and social circumstances in retirement among older New Zealanders and overlooks the significant impact of universal superannuation on protecting older New Zealanders from poverty in later life.

Keywords

intergenerational equitysuperannuationrhetorical analysisNew Zealand
Type
Articles
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 37 , Issue 3 , March 2017 , pp. 561 - 580
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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