Age discrimination is pushing older Australians to early retirement 4BC 882AM Radio Brisbane with Jason Matthews

By Sue Ellson

Topic: Age discrimination is pushing older Australians to early retirement

Date: 29 August 2025

Media Outlet: 4BC 882AM Radio Brisbane

Broadcaster / Interviewer: Jason Matthews

Producer: Carla Bignasca

Duration: 01:07:14 – 01:17:05 Total 00:09:55

Time of show: 13:38pm

Audio Recording:

YouTube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2Xiu63vQAg

Workplace Perks on 3AW 693 AM Radio Melbourne with Tony Moclair and Sue Ellson

Transcript

This is something else that’s disgraceful and and I don’t understand it because I’m actually in this demographic. Um, and I’m just an average bloke, but age discrimination is forcing thousands of older Aussies to retire years before they’re ready. The average retirement age is now just 56, almost a decade earlier than most people plan. Or you’re actually allowed to. What is it? Is it 67 for blokes or 70 for blokes now? 67.

So you can’t even access your super for another 11 years. So and for for women it’s a little bit less. But it’s leaving many financially vulnerable, because they don’t want to retire. This is especially true for women over 55 who are the fastest growing group at risk of homelessness. We’ve talked about that before. You mean you can access your super from 60, but you’d like to retire at 67 with your full super, wouldn’t you? So, how can mature workers prove their value and stay in the workforce?

We’re joined by career expert Sue Ellson, who’s been guiding Australians through the challenges of job seeking for years. Thanks for your time and afternoon, Sue.

Thanks, Jason. Great to be here.

As a 55 year-old male, I I’m actually distraught by these figures today.

Yes, and according to the government, you become a mature worker from the age of 45. So yes, it’s a frightening statistic, isn’t it?

So why? Yeah, it is. So why is age discrimination still such a big hurdle for older workers?

Well, there’s a lot of unconscious bias in the workplace. And also, if you look at when people are at their peak earning capacity, for women, that’s between the ages of 35 and 44 and for men, it’s between 45 and 54. So, this this sort of natural cycle. Well, if that’s when you earn the most money and it starts to go down after that, then obviously the amount of work that you’re doing is going to decrease.

And another interesting statistic is that for women over 55, if they lose their job, you know, maybe one of these ANZ workers, it’s going to take them about 20 months to get another job.

Wow.

Which is a very long time to be out of work.

Mmm. So, I’m not being controversial when I say this. Is it is one of the problems the fact that a lot of the recruiters are younger and they just see people over the age of 55 as yeah, whatever Boomer.

Well, interesting you should say that because I was in recruitment in my 20’s and I distinctly remember thinking anybody over 30 was old way back then.

Gees, thanks.

Of course, now yeah, I know, and now I’m 60. So, uh uh I obviously don’t feel old and I’m still very active. But when I was 28, I got sacked when I was pregnant and as soon as my daughter was born, I was back in demand and I thought, well, what happens when I’m a little bit older?

So, I’ve always planned for my future and what I’ve done personally is spread that risk. So, I have a lot of little gigs. So, just as you’re in a small business, if you have a gig on the radio and a gig somewhere else and a gig somewhere else, if you lose one of those gigs, you don’t lose your whole identity, your whole income, and your whole activity.

So, really and truly, I think that older workers need to say, well, where is the place that I can add the most value? And if I’ve got significant value, a lot of employers are not going to necessarily be able to afford my expertise five days a week, but maybe they could uh use me for two days a week and I’ll still get my normal rate and I might do two days a week here and a day and a half somewhere else and that’s another way to do it. So I think fractional work could come in.

Yeah.

And there’s a lot of people who would love this sort of flexible working arrangement. Young families, um you know, young people wanting to travel, there’s heaps of people who could benefit from that approach. And I actually, my fourth book that I wrote was all about using technology to attract aligned gigs, which I published in 2019 before the pandemic because I actually believe the future of work is not jobs, it’s work.

Yeah.

So, you’re going to have a bit of a work here, a bit of work there, and a bit of work somewhere else. And that’s what will make up your entire income.

Not suggesting for a minute I’m smart, but that’s exactly my life. You’ve just described my life perfectly. I have the pleasure of working here at 4BC. I’d like some more shifts, guys, if you’re listening. But I also I have my own small business.

Yep.

And I just potter around doing those things, and life’s life’s not bad, but you know, if if if I was unfortunately not working here and I didn’t have my business after hearing all this information, I’d struggle to find a job.

You would.

I I I wouldn’t even know where I wouldn’t even know how to get one because I I still believe it’s quite a competitive environment. Like so what what mistakes do mature job seekers make when applying for jobs?

Well, for a start, they might use a resume and not many employers use resumés anymore. They use LinkedIn profiles. A lot of the LinkedIn.

Really?

profiles are not fully Yep. Uh well, everybody’s going to Google you before they interview you.

Oh don’t do that.

And if nothing comes up online. Uh that’s going to be an issue. But also, I think a lot of people have just ended up in various jobs through happenstance. You know, somebody referred you or somebody said you’d be good at this or you just got a promotion. And so that that everybody knows how to do a job, but they don’t know how to get a job. And they’re two very different skill sets. And I remember working with one older person who said, “Oh, you know, all the jobs go to the young people.” And I said, “Okay, well, would you like a job at $30 an hour working 40 hours a week?” Oh, no. I don’t want to do that. I said, well. Yeah. Prefer to work two days a week and have a day doing golf. Oh, yeah, that’d be perfect.

Yeah.

So, I think we have to sort of pitch it in a particular way. But I think one of the areas that people often miss is working close to home. So, not the work from home, but working close to home. So, if you door knock and network and get referrals into those local businesses not far from home and say, “Look guys, I could come and help you out for a couple of hours. you know, would you like to try me on Tuesday or Wednesday next week?”

Yep.

So, it’s not yes or no, it’s Tuesday or Wednesday.

Yeah.

See what they’re like in action and then that can lead to something else. And and that sort of suits everybody because they get that really incredible experience and capability and emotional regulation and sometimes these people have more freedom of time and so it can work really well.

Yeah. I I I love that and also I just love the fact that just don’t say no to anything. Just say yes to everything and it’ll sort itself out. And that’s something that we even teach our own children. Just say yes. Give it a go. Work it out. If there’s any issues, you’ll work it out later.

Yep.

You know, everything can be solved. I love that. What’s your advice? And and this is an area of concern for me.

Mmm.

Homelessness amongst mature women. It’s it’s on the increase and it’s it’s alarming the figures and that’s because circumstances in their lives change. It could be divorce or or or or you know um other worse things that happen. Um what what’s your advice for women trying to re-enter the workforce later in life?

Well, I think it’s very important to realize that if you’re running a whole household on your efforts, that’s a big ask. And so you’ve got all the accountability is on you, all the pressure is on you, all the disappointment is on you, all the healing is on you, you know, it’s a lot to take on.

So, I think you need to build a little community of safety around you so that you do feel supported in various ways because if you lose your confidence, it doesn’t matter how many interviews you get. If you rock up and look a little bit desperate, people are not going to hire you because they’re going to sense that anxiety in your approach.

So, you’ve really got to look after your mental health and well-being and try and set yourself up somewhere where you have some level of security and support and then start moving forwards in small steps. And I think a lot of people put unrealistic demands on themselves. And if you’ve been out of the workforce for a while, try and do some voluntary work where you’ll meet people and people will see, my goodness, you’re an amazing person and you’ve got so much to offer. and then they might refer you in because I think if you’re competing against 300 um AI generated applicants.

Yeah.

That’s going to be a hard sell and up to 90% of jobs are never even advertised. So if you get to know people and get referrals.

Yep.

And a little bit of work here and a little bit of work there, you know, save every penny you get and then off you go. And that’s really the best way. And try and minimize as many of your expenses as possible. And if you need to uh share accommodation for a little while or access support services for women who you know are facing these financial difficulties, don’t be afraid to do it. Register for food banks. You know, there’s lots of supports out there in the community and don’t be too proud to access them. It’s only a transition. You can have a job for now and then when you recover a little bit more and you feel a bit more secure, then you can sort of progress again after that.

And I noticed Work Skill Australia, we got to run, but I I noticed Work Skill Australia have got tips for older job seekers. If we might be able to put that up on on Facebook or one of our socials for those who are interested. There’s six tips there. They’re all very good. I just running out of time to run through them, but um some very good advice there uh Sue. I wish I had some more time to get you on because no doubt there’ll be a lot of people with some questions for you as well. Sue Ellson, career expert.

I can come back.

Yeah, I I reckon that will happen as well. Thanks for your time this afternoon on Afternoons. Really appreciate it.

Thanks, Jason.

No worries. Take care. 12 away from two here on Afternoons on 4BC.

Social Share

AGE DISCRIMINATION // Are you over 55 and finding it difficult to secure a job? I chatted to Jason Matthews on 4BC 882AM Radio Brisbane and we talked about:

✅ the government labelling people over 45 as mature workers
✅ peak earnings for women between 35 and 44 years of age
✅ peak earnings for men between 45 and 54 years of age
✅ women over 55 taking around 20 months to find a new job
✅ young recruiters reluctant to hire mature workers
✅ planning for the future at a younger age
✅ preserving your identity, income and activity with multiple gigs
✅ going where you’re valued and considering fractional work
✅ future of work is not jobs, it’s work
✅ resumes, LinkedIn profiles and being Googled
✅ skills to get a job are different to the skills to do a job
✅ working close to home
✅ older women at risk of homelessness
✅ returning to work if financially insecure

Enjoy the show online at https://www.4bc.com.au/podcast/age-discrimination-is-pushing-older-australians-to-early-retirement

Thanks to Producer Carla Bignasca for reaching out!

➡️ What tips do you have to share that could help older workers secure a new job?

I would love to continue this discussion and hear your perspectives.

#4bcbrisbane #agediscrimination #careers #jasonmatthews #sueellson