Are you worried about your superannuation balance not being enough to fund the retirement you’d like? It’s a common and growing problem, according to new research.
Australia’s retirement system is a complicated and intricate one, with the aged pension working together with superannuation to form a safety net for a comfortable retirement. Most of us don’t fully grasp the complexity of superannuation and pension laws. At least until we need to. And even then, it’s far from simple.
This can lead to misunderstandings and fears over how to plan for the last third (hopefully) of our lives when we should be unburdened by the need to work.
But how deep do these fears cut? Well, a new survey from financial advisory firm Findex, with research from YouGov, casts some light.
This survey found that two in three Australians between the ages of 35 and 65 are “not confident that they will have the funds to retire comfortably”.
Only a third of Aussies are confident their superannuation can fund a comfortable retirement
Breaking down the numbers by age group, we have some startling findings. Only 22% of Millennials reckon they are confident they will have the financial resources to fund a comfortable retirement. That falls to 17% of Gen Xers, and just 5% of Baby Boomers.
According to the survey findings, this “means Aussies have adopted a ‘kick it down the road’ mentality to retirement and when retirement eventually comes to their doorstep, are faced with the reality that their savings and superannuation aren’t going to cut it”.
Interestingly, eight out of every ten people surveyed believed their retirement prospects would benefit from professional financial advice. However, only three out of ten have actually sought it out. The barriers to entry that those surveyed cited were cost (33%), ‘don’t earn enough to make financial advice worthwhile’ (30%), and procrastination (19%).
So this survey exposes some rather damning holes in our national education surrounding retirement. Not to mention the systems we have in place to support Australians in their ‘golden years’.
Here at the Motley Fool, we are passionate about educating all Australians about the benefits that investing can bring to retirement. So make sure to check out our many resources about retirement and how to plan ahead for comfortable retirement living.
