Welfare snapshot confirms the have-nots are making little headway The circumstances for Australia's poorest people have barely changed over the past decade while high-income earners have surged ahead, widening the wealth gap. Disposable income for the poorest households is $314 a week, up about $60 from 2003-04, while the wealthiest households have a disposable income of $1704 a week, an increase of about $400 over the same period. A snapshot of Australia's welfare released on Thursday shows that while the global financial crisis caused a blip in hip pockets of the wealthiest people, the gap between rich and poor has increased. The report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare also revealed the ageing population is having an impact on households, with empty nesters driving an increase in child-free homes. Families with no children at home are forecast to exceed those still with children by next year. The number of Australians over 65 has increased threefold over the past 40 years, now at 3 million. Empty-nester couples are on the rise along with lone-person households, which are forecast to become the fast-growing household type, although adult children are staying in the parental home for longer. From 1997 to 2010, the proportion of KIPPERs - kids in parents' pockets eroding retirement savings - increased from 20 per cent to 23 per cent. House prices were more than seven times the average household income in 2011 compared with four times the income in 2002. The age of first home owners has risen. Only 47 per cent of people aged 25-34 were buying their own home in 2011, compared with 61 per cent in 1981. The proportion of renters rose from 26 per cent to 29 per cent over the past 15 years. About 36 per cent of households are paying a mortgage, compared with 33 per cent outright ownership, a reversal of the situation 10 years ago. The good news for middle-aged owners is that the family home has helped make them millionaires, on paper at least. The wealthiest group in the survey were those aged 55-64, whose households had a mean net worth of just over $1 million in property, superannuation and other assets. But many are still doing it tough. The report found 13 per cent of the population is living in poverty and government support is the main source of income for one in four people, a proportion which has been steady since 2008 but is down from the peak of 33 per cent in 1996. Of welfare recipients, 56 per cent are age pensioners, 31 per cent receive disability or carer payments, 20 per cent get family support and 14 per cent are on unemployment or study benefits. Some get more than one payment. Governments spent an estimated $119 billion on welfare in 2010-11, compared with $137 billion in 2008-09. The report found city people were doing better than their country counterparts despite the higher cost of living. While noting some improvements for indigenous Australians, it found they still suffered higher death rates and were still overrepresented in the justice system.