Aussies feel advice only for wealthy
Three-in-four Australians have not seen a financial adviser in the last five years despite an increasing number of them believing they will fall well short of being able to fund their retirement, according to MLC.
The MLC Wealth Sentiment Survey showed that between the fourth quarter of 2016 and the first of 2017, there was an increase in Australians who believed they would have “far from enough” in retirement, up from 24 per cent to 32 per cent of respondents.
Yet many did not seek financial advice as they felt they were not wealthy enough to afford it, which may be holding them back from achieving their goals.
MLC general manager of customer experience, superannuation, Lara Bourguignon, said: “Many respondents said they would visit a financial adviser if their needs were more complicated or if they earned more or had money to invest”.
“But tackling debt or implementing a savings plan is actually the ideal time to engage a financial adviser. We certainly need to start changing our view around advice being only for the wealthy; it’s for all of us.”
There was also a gap between the retirement Australians wanted and the ones they expected to have. Most described their ideal retirement as “relaxed”, “comfort”, and “travel”. But one in five used words like “stressed”, “worried”, and “difficult”, to describe how they expected their retirement to be.
“What’s interesting is that respondents said they need over $1 million to retire on, but even small super balances help in retirement, so instead of being worried and fearful, people should feel motivated and empowered to take the little steps that make a big difference,” Bourguignon said.
The survey also found 21 per cent of Australians planned to pay off more debt in the next three months, as opposed to 13 per cent who intended to pay off less debt than they were previously. Further, 26 per cent intended to save more and 19 per cent save less.
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