Examining housing, ageing and financial planning for older women

Financial Decisions of Older Australian Women from Three Different Residential Environments: A Human Ecological Perspective

Population ageing is a global phenomenon, with women, on average, having a longer life expectancy than men. In addition, older women are often financially more vulnerable, with less financial security, compared to men. However, older women is not a homogenous group, with differences in their financial needs and financial decisions later in life. As such, a targeted approach to assist them in their financial planning efforts to support and improve financial decision making later in life is vital to alleviate pressure from governments and individuals. Given the importance of housing as a basic human need; the emotional significance of home; and with the family home being, for most Australians, financially their most significant asset, financial planning needs and decisions later in life can vary between homeowners, retirement village residents, and renters. In this study, a human ecological perspective is applied to explore the impact and interaction of 1) the individual; 2) the social-cultural environment; and 3) the built and natural environment, on the financial decisions, and ultimately the financial planning of older women in three different living arrangements in an Australian context.

About the Speaker Dr Christa Viljoen is a Lecturer in Finance and Financial Planning at Adelaide University, and a CHASM International Visiting Fellow in 2026. Her interdisciplinary research focuses on personal finance, an ageing population and housing, in for women, including later-life financial decisions of older women. More recently, her research focus also has shifted to the impact, in particular risks and opportunities, of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) in the financial planning of older adults, which is also the focus of the 2026 CHASM Fellowship research in collaboration with Professor Karen Elliot, University of Birmingham.