Surprise, surprise: wealth generates wellbeing

Rohan Mead

Older Australians with higher incomes are more satisfied with their lifestyle, the latest Australian Unity Wellbeing Index has found.

Australians aged 76 and over with an income between $61,000 to $90,000 are very satisfied with their lifestyle.

An income level of about $100,000 seems to be the point where improvements in a sense of wellbeing in Australians plateaus, Australian unity managing director Rohan Mead said.

“Increases in wellbeing start to hit a ceiling at a gross household income of around $90,000 to $100,000 and beyond this level, wellbeing does not increase in line with increasing income,” he said.

“We can really see that the power of money in maintaining our wellbeing is about having enough to cope with things that come up in life such as illness or increasing interest rates, and it reinforces the need to watch our spending and debt levels.”

Apart from 76-year-olds with good incomes, the index also found females, living with partner and children and the household income is more than $150,000 a year, are also happy with their lot.

At the opposite end of the scale, unemployed males with incomes of less than $15,000 a year are pretty miserable about their future.

Divorced, unemployed males and females are not very positive about their wellbeing and divorced, single parents on low incomes score on the lowest categories of the index.

The report’s author, Deakin University professor Bob Cummins, said the two most powerful things that maintain a positive sense of wellbeing are relationships and managing our finances effectively.

“People with extremely high wellbeing tend to be wealthier people living with their partner,” he said.

“At the opposite end of the wellbeing scale, the members of the lowest groups have a low income, they don’t have a partner, and unemployment also comes into the picture.

“If divorce or separation is added to the mix, the effect on wellbeing is devastating.”

Cummins said while a partner and wealth are important for maintaining wellbeing, having a partner appears to be the most crucial.

“The results show that of people across all income groups, those with a partner have a higher wellbeing,” he said.

“While a partner and wealth are important for maintaining wellbeing, having a partner appears to be the most useful, across all groups.”

The Australian Unity Wellbeing Index report has been conducted for six years and has surveyed more than 30,000 to date.