Industry fund members want more superannuation advice

A significant proportion of industry fund members would be interested in further advice about their superannuation, even though less than one in five members surveyed currently used a financial planner, according to a survey by Energy Super.

Almost three in five members surveyed (57.8 per cent) said they would be interested in over-the-phone single-issue advice and more than two in five (41.1 per cent) would be interested in attending face-to-face super education seminars, the survey of more than 1000 members found.

The research also found about a third of respondents (31.7 per cent) were unsure of what super account they held and features they could be using to maximise retirement savings, while more than one in six respondents (17.9 per cent) had no idea what their current account balance was.

Only a quarter of all respondents were confident they would have enough savings to last their whole retirement.

Energy Super chief executive Robyn Petrou said the survey revealed a segment of working Australians who were highly engaged and wanted more education and advice, and interested in a wide range of education points including online, face-to-face and over the phone.

"Our goal is to try and get more people into this group and at a younger age, as the benefits of understanding and engaging with your super earlier are well known," Petrou said.

"The challenge for funds such as Energy Super is to better engage with members who are disinterested in their superannuation and make them realise how paying attention to their super now will pay dividends in the future," she said.