Australians still unprepared for retirement

Australians still aren’t doing enough to prepare for retirement, according to new research released by Roy Morgan Research.

However, those who have called on the services of financial planners have generally felt happy with the value they receive.

The research confirmed that of the 7.5 million Australians who have superannuation, 66 per cent have not started planning for retirement – including around one million people deemed to be in the critical pre-retirement age group.

The Roy Morgan Research Retirement Planning Report also found that Australians were still struggling to understand superannuation, with only 46 per cent of respondents regarding themselves as ‘very knowledgeable’ or ‘fairly knowledgeable’.

The research found that while knowledge of superannuation increased with age, it was still relatively low even among the pre-retirement group aged between 50 and 64, where only 59 per cent felt knowledgeable to some extent.

“With a generally low level of overall retirement planning and knowledge of superannuation, it will become increasingly important that people with superannuation make more use of professional financial planners,” the Roy Morgan analysis said.

The survey found that around 40 per cent of those with superannuation had used a financial planner, with this rising to 59 per cent in the pre-retirement age group.

Commenting on the findings, Roy Morgan Research industry communications director Norman Morris said a large number of people who had not used a financial planner (or were not in an active advice relationship) continued to reflect a level of apathy in the market towards financial planning, which planners have not yet been able to overcome.