Paul Keating says we have to take out compulsory insurance to cover incomes, housing and healthcare for the elderly.

Mr Keating was speaking at the launch of the Centre for Applied Policy in Positive Ageing, part of the left wing think tank, Per Capita.

He promotes a 3% insurance levy on the workforce, saying: "You can't expect to have 35 years of [wealth] accumulation and have it last 35 years after that”.

“This is a classic job for insurance. The Commonwealth can insure across generations and pool risk. The Commonwealth is the default insurer anyway through the aged pension”. The contributions of those who died young would effectively supplement those who lived longer.

He says superannuation currently is not enough. While he has abandoned 15%, he wants it raised to 12% for it to ever be possible for people to live on 70% of the income they earned in the year before they retired.

His speech runs for 42 minutes but is worth hearing HERE.