Australians are four times more likely to feel financially fit when they have a financial plan and use a financial planner, yet 60 per cent of workers have never used one despite financial worries.
Such was the finding from Map My Plan’s ‘The Financial Fitness of Working Australians 2016 Report’, which found that 62 per cent of Australian workers without a financial plan reported being concerned about money. The same study found 66 per cent of people with a comprehensive financial plan were not stressed about their personal finances.
Many workers worried about money matters during working hours, with 25 per cent of workers spending more than three hours a week worrying about their personal finances at work, while a quarter reported losing sleep over their financial situation, and a third reported it caused stress.
Map My Plan founder, Paul Feeney, said Australian workers’ financial fitness had dipped to 113 out of 200, similar to 114 last year.
“While many employers no doubt see the management of their workers’ finances as a personal issue, the impact on business is huge,” Feeney said.
“It’s costing government organisations alone more than $8 billion in reduced productivity, and private or listed companies $35 billion.”
Respondents were equally worried about being unable to retire at a desired age, with 60 per cent of the 1,573 workers surveyed reporting concerns they would need to rely on the Age Pension when they retired. Only 24 per cent of Generation X believed they would have enough money for a comfortable wedding.
Only 20 per cent of those with no financial plan reported feeling financially fit, while 44 per cent of those with a rough plan felt fit, while 72 per cent of those with a comprehensive plan felt financial fit or super fit.
Generation Y were most likely to be distracted at work by their personal finances but they were also most likely to be interested in a financial wellbeing program at work, with 67 per cent saying they were very or quite interested, compared with 46 per cent of Baby Boomers and 57 per cent of Generation X.
The gender divide, continued with more than one-in-three women more likely to be financially unfit, compared with fewer than one-in-four men. Meanwhile, 36 per cent of women felt financially unfit, compared to 23 per cent of men.
