Mortgage holders averse to financial advice
Only 15 per cent of people aged between 35 and 49 have gone to a professional for financial advice about their retirement, according to research by industry super fund REST.
In a whitepaper released today, the super fund found 85 per cent of the 1000 respondents in this group said they do not seek advice from professionals, family or friends.
Of those who have never sought advice, 29 per cent said they wanted to handle their own financial matters, while 24 per cent said they did not earn or have enough money to need professional advice.
Only 12 per cent took advice from a financial advisor on managing debt, while four per cent took advice on short-term savings, 11 per cent took advice on long-term savings, 12 per cent took advice on investing, and seven per cent took advice on insurance.
Meanwhile, more than half said they did not seek advice from anyone on any matters.
Out of those that did seek professional advice, 73 per cent found it useful.
The research also found that with 71 per cent of this age group paying off a mortgage, paying this debt off figures as their top priority, compared to long-term savings such as retirement, which only comes fourth, after paying off personal debts, and short-term savings.
"Focusing on paying off the house means that over half (51 per cent) of Australians are relying solely on the compulsory super system to save for their retirement — at the very stage of life when they are likely to be in the best position to make additional contributions on top of what their employer is paying," REST CEO Damian Hill said.
Half of Australians in this age group are with a balanced super fund option, or the default option, while 19 per cent are not saving for retirement at all, including getting any employer contributions.
Only more than half (59 per cent) of women receive employer contributions, compared to 75 per cent of men in the same age bracket.
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