New research shows retirees are most worried about running out of money

With the nature of retirement evolving, and today’s retirees often living for over 30 years after they stop working, more Australians are thinking about retirement than ever before. It’s increasingly important we understand the hopes and fears of pre-retirees and the lived experience of retirees to ensure we provide products that give them confidence in their future.

TAL engaged 1,023 Australians through a YouGov survey in earlier this year. It compared retirement perspectives for people approaching retirement (Pre-retirees) as well as those over 65 and no longer working (Retirees). The purpose of the research was to further our understanding of the challenges and concerns facing superannuation fund members to better understand how we can support them.

Key findings from this report include:

• pre-retirees are significantly more worried than retirees about the retirement worries presented, likely due to fear of the future and lack of knowledge about retirement;
• pre-retirees are not looking for a sense of belonging in a community because there is a saturation of community activities already available;
• the top worries for pre-retirees is having enough money before they die, for unexpected events and for non-essential living expenses e.g. holidays;
• all participants want to fund their retirement with their superannuation balance however, these funds will not last their full retirement;
• most pre-retirees believe their super fund will continue to support their financial health in retirement;
• pre-retirees want flexibility to access their super when they need it, especially for unexpected events; and
• intentionally leaving a bequest is one of the lowest concerns for pre-retirees - contradicting alternative qualitative customer research where there was heavy member concern about being able to leave a bequest.
  

Interestingly, 24% of participants in the targeted super balance ranges (a super balance of $200-$499k) were comfortable with putting some of their retirement savings away to fund their later retirement needs. As super balances increased so did the willingness to commit to a retirement product with a deferral period which could potentially be attributed to overall higher financial literacy.

Throughout this survey a strong theme which resonated with members was the flexibility to access savings during early in retirement if they needed to.

Get in touch to learn more

If you’d like more information about TAL’s retirement income solutions or wish to discuss these research findings, please get in touch with your TAL Client Manager.