There has been a decline in the level of confidence about retirement among high net worth (HNW) Australians, with a large number pointing to changes in the superannuation system as a key driver behind their current attitudes, according to research commissioned by Generation Life.
The “2025/26 Navigating Uncertainty Report”, which surveyed the views of 650 HNW Australians and 354 financial advisers between October and November 2025, found since 2022, 71 per cent were less confident about their financial security, 69 per cent felt less confident about retiring comfortably and 63 per cent were now taking less investment risk with their portfolios.
Generation Life chief executive Felipe Araujo noted while sentiment had fallen, secure retirement was still the leading financial goal of those surveyed, ahead of wealth transfer and accumulation, but people remained uncertain about the operation of the retirement savings system.
“A secure, comfortable retirement is the ambition of every Australian – it’s their highest financial priority, but the journey feels less certain,” Araujo said.
“Trust in Australia’s world-class superannuation system endures, yet confidence in the rules that surround it has weakened – shaped by years of shifting legislative change and taxation debate, of which Division 296 is only the most recent chapter.”
He pointed out while 84 per cent of HNWs believed the Australia retirement system was one of the best in the world, 66 per cent said its rules change too often and were hard to follow and 61 per cent were not confident the system will build and protect long-term savings.
The report found superannuation rule changes were playing a larger role in the near-term decisions of respondents, with one-third of those who reduced super contributions in the past year doing so in response to proposed government tax policy changes and 40 per cent reducing contributions based on adviser guidance.
Change to superannuation rules was also a key driver of engagement with advice providers, according to Araujo, who stated there had been a shift in the questions being asked by those in the survey.
“Super tax settings have now become a huge focus, alongside retirement and the great wealth transfer, on the advice agenda, not because people are changing their goals, but because they want clear direction – certainty – on the rules that frame their post-accumulation plans,” he said.
The report found the concerns of consumers were being echoed by advisers, with around 70 per cent involved in the research having contacted a majority of their clients about the Division 296 tax and finding they were concerned about a lack of clarity and ongoing changes to super.
The “2025/26 Navigating Uncertainty Report” was co-designed by Generation Life, Madden & Assoc, and CoreData, with fieldwork conducted by CoreData research team. HNW investors were classified as those having an investment portfolio over $1 million, excluding superannuation and principal place of residence.
