Over 40 per cent of working age Australians have not received any financial advice to help them prepare for retirement, with 39 per cent choosing to rely on advice from friends and family, according to HSBC.
The Future of Retirement report, which compares data from 17 countries, found that the same group of Australians would be saving for their retirement for around 11 years longer than current retirees, with the majority planning on downsizing their current property in the future to help fund their retirement.
The study also revealed that the average global retirement savings gap was seven years and that Australians had the third highest savings gap, with many people lacking adequate information on the real costs of retirement and relying solely on advice from friends and family.
Additionally, even though 75 per cent of working age people had started saving for retirement, over one third (35 per cent) of them had stopped or faced difficulties saving at some points.
According to HSBC’s global research study, out of all the countries surveyed, Australians also seemed to be the most likely to fund their retirement relying on their properties, with 26 per cent admitting they would fund their retirement through the proceeds from property, with another 66 per cent of Australians saying they would consider downsizing from their current property in the future.
However, according to HSBC, the income from property coupled with savings and fund portfolios “may still not be enough” and because of that, 31 per cent of working age Australians expected to continue to work in their retirement years, compared to just 10 per cent of current retirees.
HSBC head of wealth, Scott Ellis, stressed that some people had already realised that saving may not be enough to adequately prepare for retirement and had decided to plan for alternate sources of income like property.
“Planning for retirement can appear daunting although not as potentially daunting as a retirement that has not been planned,” he said.
“The best way to alleviate these concerns is to start early, seek professional advice and be prepared for the ups and downs of funding your retirement.”
