Abstract: Population ageing through much of the developed world presents the opportunity for a massive transfer of wealth across generations. One important and understudied intergenerational transfer in Australia occurs at or near death through inheritance or inter vivo transfers. In Australia, the number of deaths is projected to increase 13% in 10 years and 95% by mid-century. With this significant change on the horizon, little academic interest has focused on the value of assets at age of death in Australia. In this report, we utilise the National Transfer Account (NTA) methodology to examine the per capita and aggregate (i.e., economy wide) value of net assets available at age of death in Australia for the years 2003–04 and 2009–10. We take a substantial step in the development of a wealth transfer account within the National Transfer Account methodology by providing a procedure to estimate economy wide levels of assets and liabilities. We show that the assets available at age of death in Australia are very significant: between 60 and 70 billion Australian dollars in 2003–04 and 2009–10. The majority of the asset value was tied up in property, with about three quarters of total average assets held in property by those dying at ages 65 and over. Using simulations, we also illustrate, that relative to the past, assets are now transferred much later in life because of the extended delay of death. We conclude with a discussion about government policies that target elder abuse, and policies that constrain desired familial transfers.

中文翻译：

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澳大利亚死亡年龄可用的净资产：国民转移账户方法的扩展

摘要：发达国家大部分地区的人口老龄化为财富跨代大规模转移提供了机会。在澳大利亚，一项重要但尚未得到充分研究的代际转移发生在死亡或濒临死亡时，通过继承或体内转移进行。在澳大利亚，预计 10 年内死亡人数将增加 13%，到本世纪中叶将增加 95%。随着这一重大变化的出现，学术界几乎没有兴趣关注澳大利亚在死亡年龄时的资产价值。在本报告中，我们利用国民转移账户 (NTA) 方法研究了 2003-04 年和 2009-10 年澳大利亚死亡年龄可用净资产的人均和总价值（即，经济范围内的）。我们通过提供估计经济范围内资产和负债水平的程序，在国民转移账户方法中开发财富转移账户迈出了实质性的一步。我们表明，澳大利亚在死亡年龄时可用的资产非常重要：2003-04 年和 2009-10 年在 60 至 700 亿澳元之间。大部分资产价值都与财产挂钩，其中大约四分之三的平均总资产由 65 岁及以上死亡的人持有。通过模拟，我们还说明，相对于过去，由于死亡延迟的延长，资产现在在生命中转移得更晚。我们最后讨论了针对老年人虐待的政府政策，以及限制家庭转移的政策。