Despite 71 per cent of surveyed Australians feeling they do not have enough super to live comfortably in retirement, there is a disconnect between that fear and taking action to remedy it, Intrust Super has found.
The fund surveyed 1,700 people, of which 72 per cent were not currently making personal contributions to their super and 32 per cent had no plans to ever make personal contributions.
“This represents a discrepancy between peoples’ anxiety about their retirement futures, and their ability to make real progress towards their futures,” Intrust Super chief executive, Brendan O’Farrell, said.
The fund found that 40 per cent of those surveyed were interested in making extra contributions but weren’t yet doing so. Eighty per cent of those who would consider contributing more to their super believed they couldn’t afford to do so.
“Analysis of the survey shows that Australians aren’t contributing to their future because they can’t afford to, don’t have the time, or believe setting up contributions is too hard,” Farrell said.
“If we can help them make sense of their super now, it could add up to thousands of extra in retirement savings for their futures. Every little cent counts.”
The regulator has fined two super funds for misleading sustainability and investment claims, citing ongoing efforts to curb greenwashing across the sector.
Super funds have extended their winning streak, with balanced options rising 1.3 per cent in October amid broad market optimism.
Introducing a cooling off period in the process of switching super funds or moving money out of the sector could mitigate the potential loss to fraudulent behaviour, the outgoing ASIC Chair said.
Widespread member disengagement is having a detrimental impact on retirement confidence, AMP research has found.