Australians unprepared for retirement

The majority of pre-retirees in Australia expect to work longer, while 39 per cent feel they are unlikely to meet their retirement income needs, according to CoreData research.

CoreData’s Retirement Report, which revealed the results of a survey of 1,690 Australians aged over 55 conducted in February, showed that 69 per cent felt overwhelmed by their super and retirement finances, while 86 per cent planned to work part-time. One in three stated that they did not believe they had the ability to choose the date of their retirement, and thought they would be forced to work as long as possible. About 39 per cent said they were unlikely to meet their retirement needs.

“Our research shows Australians in the pre-retirement phase are clearly overwhelmed by their approaching retirement,” said CoreData head of advice, wealth and superannuation, Kristen Turnbull. “The less knowledgeable and educated they are about their choices, the more likely they are to feel overwhelmed.”

Turnbull said Australians respondents were open to receiving assistance, information and reassurance through their super fund.

“The findings show super funds and financial advisers need to do a better job engaging pre-retirees about the products and services available to them in retirement, since this is the time they most require assistance, information and reassurance,” she said.

Turnbull said the fact that more were looking to work longer meant that the financial services industry needed to rethink the services and products it offered. The research found that the top three products that respondents would like their fund to offer in retirement were market/capital protection, annuities and health insurance.

Financial advice was the most valued service among respondents, followed by financial counselling and online information tools. Yet newspapers, magazines and websites were the most common source of financial decision-making information for pre and post retirees, the research found.