Far too many people are relying on chance such as a lotto win to see them into safe retirement, according to new research released by BT Financial Group (BTFG).
The latest BTFG Australian Financial Health Index found a disturbing number of Australians who believed winning the lottery represented a retirement incomes strategy with up to 15 per cent of people regarding it as a possible source of funds across all age cohorts.
Commenting on the survey findings, BTFG’s General Manager of Superannuation, Melinda Howes said the attitude continued to prevail despite it being clear that a “she’ll be right” attitude doesn’t make sense when it comes to retirement.
“It doesn’t make sense to financially prioritise ‘maybe’ scenarios over facts and the facts are if you don’t save for retirement and invest early, you will not have enough money to retire,” she said.
The findings contained in the BTFG research come despite Australians reporting their financial situations have improved in the past five years with a higher proportion of Australians saying they have money left over beyond their basic living expenses than in past surveys (58 per cent in 2012 compared to 71 per cent in 2015).
However it also revealed that Australians’ top savings priority is ‘holidays and travel’ (24 per cent) followed by ‘unexpected occurrences’ (21 per cent) with only 18 per cent of Australians identifying super as their top savings priority.
The Index also found a more buoyant attitude to superannuation with an increase in confidence about funding their retirement, from 43 per cent in 2012 to 51 per cent in 2015. However, 26 per cent of Australians say they feel ‘nervous’ and ‘hesitant’ about planning for retirement compared to 21 per cent who feel ‘excited and energised’.
“The research is telling us Australians feel good financially with just over half expecting to have enough money to live comfortably in retirement. Yet the prospect of retirement remains a source of anxiety for many with the majority of under-55’s not confident they’ll have enough money,” Howes said.
“Saving for retirement needs planning and time, two things that will have a significant impact on when and how we retire. Without these, you are truly relying on chance, and nobody really wants that for their financial future,” she said.
