Super members least likely to seek advice for retirement: MFS

A recent survey has found that Australian superannuation members were least likely to seek out financial advice to inform their retirement decisions, instead preferring to consult their super fund or a family member.

The 2024 MFS Global Retirement Survey of 701 Australian super members and 306 retirees indicated that only 29 per cent relied on information supplied by a financial adviser to make decisions about their retirement, compared to 55 per cent engaging with their super funds, 31 per cent with financial media and 30 per cent with a family member.

Generationally, Millennials were most likely to consult with their super fund or financial media for retirement advice, while close to 20 per cent of Generation X respondents said they rely on no external resources for financial advice.

These results come at the same time as retirement confidence has seemingly climbed year-on-year, with the number of Australians who expect to not retire falling from 40 per cent in 2023 to 28 per cent in the 2024 edition.

However, several other markers indicated some concerns still remained about cost of living and savings in retirement:

• 50 per cent of Australian super members were strongly concerned about saving enough money for retirement
• 25 per cent had changed their retirement investments in the past year
• 23 per cent were ‘very sure’ they would retire at their desired age (down from 26 per cent in 2023)

“It is concerning to see in our survey results how few Australians rely on financial advice to manage their financial affairs,” Josh Barton, Managing Director and Head of Australia and New Zealand, said.

“Whilst it is encouraging to see the government trying to address this blind spot and enable more advice to be provided within superannuation, there is clearly much work to do, and clarification needed.”

The survey also revealed several ‘misconceptions’ about passive versus active investing, with 61 per cent believing passive funds are less risky than the overall market and 29 per cent believed they generate stronger returns than the overall market. Also, 65% of Australians agreed that actively managed funds can select stocks and bonds that may generate better returns than the overall market.

“Critical understanding gaps are likely to persist, such as those discovered by our survey in relation to the risk and performance misnomers associated with passive investing,” Barton said.

“While more retirement plans appear to be within reach, advice remains key to achieving it,  even more so today given investment markets have become increasingly complex and difficult to navigate.”