Living costs continue to challenge super savings, MLC finds
New research has found living expenses remain a significant barrier to Australians' ability to contribute to their superannuation, with one in five people expecting to retire with less than $100,000.
The MLC Wealth Sentiment Survey found that not having enough money to invest after taking out living expenses remains the biggest barrier to saving for retirement.
MLC general manager of corporate super Lara Bourguignon said this is seeing a large number of Australians continuing to face a retirement savings gap.
The survey found that expectations for having more than enough to retire on were very low, with only seven per cent of men and four per cent of women expecting to reach this goal.
It also indicated that 40 per cent of Australian women do not expect to have enough money to retire on, compared with around 31 per cent of men.
One in four women, based on the results, believe they will have ‘far from enough’ to retire on.
On average the survey showed that on average, Australian expects to retire with $500,000 but nearly one in five expect to have less than $100,000 and one and five don’t know.
The survey also showed that 40 per cent of Australians don’t know how much they have in super.
Ms Bourguignon said it was concerning that half the population still does not use a financial planner or even has a financial plan.
“A financial plan can not only help you to achieve your immediate goals, it can also help make sure you’re putting enough away for a comfortable retirement,” she said.
“If you find yourself living pay check to pay check, finding the time to make a financial plan can help you find savings opportunities.”
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