Pre-retirees lacking formal plan for future goals: research
New research has revealed that over 40 per cent of pre-retiree members have either no formalised plan, or no plan at all, for their future retirement goals.
Superannuation fund, Equip Super, combined insights from internal member research and primary market research of nearly 6,000 Australians, and discovered that members are thinking about retirement, but not considering their own specific retirement needs and timing.
“From our research, we know that many of our members are financially savvy and aware,” said Scott Cameron, Equip Super’s CEO.
“We found that 65 per cent of Equip Super’s members who have retired are confident about current investment market trends, with 73 per cent confident in their understanding of different investment approaches and strategies. This is a larger portion than reflected amongst the broader market, by 18 and 19 per cent respectively.
“Additionally, we found that nine in ten of our pre-retiree members are already thinking about their retirement income needs – however, concerningly, close to half don’t actually have a plan in place to achieve this.
“Retirement needs and goals vary greatly from member to member; likewise, each member has a different financial situation, which influences their retirement planning.
“Our internal member research revealed that our retirees’ greatest need is personalised, one-on-one advice. We have fully qualified, experienced financial planners who are able to provide this tailored, proactive guidance2,” said Cameron.
Investment market trends, and different approaches to investing, were another key takeaway from Equip Super’s market research, with 50 per cent of Equip Super pre-retirees confident about current market trends.
To address gaps highlighted by the research, which revealed a lack of consideration and understanding toward retirement amongst pre-retirees, Equip Super has launched The Next Chapter which expand the fund’s member support offerings in terms of both visibility, education and accessibility.
“The aim of the campaign is to raise awareness of the existing tools which are available to members, and to get Australians thinking about planning for retirement as early as possible,” Mr Cameron, said.
A range of digital resources, education material, calculators and easy access to tailored financial advice services, will be supported with an integrated campaign including social media, digital and video advertising to non-members, and targeted communications to existing members.
