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Third of elderly Aussies living in poverty

 

One-third of Australians over the age of 60 are now living below the poverty line, placing the country well below other developed nations.

The Global AgeWatch Index,  a worldwide report which covers the living conditions of elderly people, ranked Australia at 17th in the world, behind New Zealand and Canada, and down four places from last year.

Australia is ranked 62nd on income security, behind countries like Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Georgia.

Also read: Least wealthy will depend on age pension
Also read: When a million dollars just isn't enough

Its old age poverty rate was 33.4 per cent, meaning that amount of Australians aged over 60 have an income of less than half the country's median income.

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Australia's pension income coverage was below the average for Asia, with 83 per cent of people over 65 receiving a pension.

Switzerland topped the 2015 index ahead of Norway, Sweden, Germany and then Canada. New Zealand came 12th.