Retirement preparedness “alarmingly” low



Less than one in 20 Australians expect to maintain their current standard of living into retirement with excess savings, a survey shows.
While one in three (31.7 per cent) envisage a sizable financial shortfall and one in four expect some retirement gap, just 3.5 per cent think they will have more than enough money for their remaining years, according to the MLC Retirement snapshot.
Meanwhile, almost 70 per cent said they did not have a fallback plan for unexpected events such as major illness or sudden unemployment.
NAB Wealth Group executive Andrew Hagger said while it was encouraging to see superannuation was front of mind for a growing proportion of Australians, it was worrying that more than half are not adequately prepared.
“Australians wanting to take control and get active in their retirement savings should seek financial advice to get the help they need to reach their goals,” Hagger said.
The findings were based on MLC’s survey of more than 2000 Australians.
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