Without major changes, the future will look grim for many retirees, new research suggests.

The University of Canberra National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling report Going the distance: Working longer, living healthier has investigated the impact of Australia’s rising retirement age, which is set to hit 70 in 2035.

“In 2035, the majority of retired or unemployed Australians in their sixties will not have enough superannuation for retirement”, the report says.

“Modelling in this report predicts that in 2035, one in four men and one in five women in their sixties are expected to assess their health as fair or poor.

“For those expected to be in fair or poor health, the majority (65.1 per cent) of men and more than two-thirds (72.1 per cent) of women are likely to be unemployed.”

Many workers will face an impossible situation, both unable to retire and unable to work.

Increases in the retirement age and a weakening of the age pension system have been on the wish list of Australian business for many years. The findings of this new study confirm that, if the Liberals get their way, the future for many workers is grim.