Demand for financial advice remains strong with more than 80 per cent of people believing it should be accessible to all and two-thirds wanting the government to make changes so that is the case, according to a new report from Colonial First State.
The “Empowered Australian Report 2025”, released today, found 82 per cent of the 2250 people surveyed for the research wanted advice to be accessible to anyone and 72 per cent believed it should be priced according to needs, from simple to complex.
When asked what specific issues they would like advice about, the report found the most common area among those who have never received advice was superannuation and then investments and saving for retirement.
The report noted, however, that 70 per cent of people were unaware they could pay for financial advice using money from their super fund and a further 22 per cent were aware of this but were unsure how it worked. At the same time, one in two people surveyed would like their super fund to help them find an adviser.
“Given that superannuation is the number one topic they want advice on, this presents a major opportunity for super funds and advisers to raise awareness about this option,” the report stated.
For those people in the survey who did not use an adviser, 36 per cent stated price was the key reason for that decision, while 34 per cent said it cost too much for what they expected to get out of it, 18 per cent did not know the benefits and 13 per cent struggled with the right questions to ask.
“These findings indicate that more work needs to be done to educate consumers about the benefits of advice, what questions they could ask an adviser and what they should expect to receive for the fee they pay,” the report said.
CFS Superannuation chief executive Kelly Power said with the return of the Albanese government it had an opportunity to complete its reforms to remove barriers for the provision of advice to more people.
“We should not lose sight of the fact millions of Australians will be approaching retirement over the coming decade and the current framework will mean too many are unable to access the help they will need,” Power said.
“As government starts developing new guidance on super and retirement, this should also inform all Australians that if the financial advice relates to issues associated with how you could use your super to save for retirement, the cost of that advice can be deducted from your super account.”
