AMP’s inaugural annual Retirement Confidence Pulse has found that just 50 per cent of Australians are confident about their retirement.
Australians in their forties were among the least confident about their retirement (less than two in five said they were confident) due to their many financial responsibilities, such as mortgages, children and ageing parents.
AMP also pointed out the annual cost of a comfortable retirement has climbed by more than $13,000 in five years, according to the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia Retirement Standard.
AMP chief executive Alexis George said: “Australians over the age of 65 will make up nearly a quarter of our population within four decades – a demographic shift set to reshape the nation’s economic and social landscape.
“Yet, as this Pulse shows, despite growing super balances and national wealth, too many feel financially insecure about life after work – an issue that needs to be front and centre for policymakers and the superannuation industry.”
AMP surveyed 2000 Australians across different genders, ages, family status, income, employment and life stages for the Pulse.
Survey results also revealed men were more confident about their retirement than women – three in five versus two in five – while older more affluent workers were much more confident about retirement, with 87 per cent of over 65 year olds earning between $190,000 and $250,000 expressing their confidence.
Interestingly, those aged 20 to 39 were more confident about their retirement than some of the older cohorts, with men in that age bracket saying they were 64 per cent confident about their retirement and women saying they were 41 per cent confident.
The gender divide is also obvious when it comes to divorce, with separated divorced men with children saying they were 56 per cent confident about their retirement compared to 31 per cent of divorced women with children.
Off the back of the Retirement Confidence Pulse, AMP has launched The Retirement Confidence Hub, which it hopes will turn evidence into action so more Australians can feel confident about their retirement and unlock a better quality of life, according to hub chair and AMP retirement director Ben Hillier.
Hillier joins AMP chief economist Shane Oliver and AMP Foundation chief executive Nicola Stokes on the hub’s advisory committee.
