Australians are being urged to get on top of their financial position now to ensure they can still enjoy the retirement they want. (Source: Getty) <\/p>\n
A third of Australians are retiring with less than $50,000 in their superannuation account<\/a>, new research has found. It\u2019s sparked an urgent warning for Aussies<\/a> to get on top of their financial position now.<\/p>\n Research by super fund UniSuper found 34 per cent of Aussies aged between 65 and 75 years were retiring<\/a> with less than $50,000 in super, leaving many overly reliant on the Age Pension. This was based on a survey of 3,851 Aussies in various age groups.<\/p>\n UniSuper private client adviser Derek Gascoigne told Yahoo Finance one of the reasons behind the low balances was that superannuation<\/a> was only introduced in 1992 and commenced at just 3 per cent, before gradually increasing to the current compulsory 12 per cent.<\/p>\n RELATED<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s probably been sitting at 9 per cent for most of those people\u2019s careers and it\u2019s only really just been slowly raised to its current level of 12 per cent,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cSo a lot of those people haven\u2019t had full careers where they\u2019ve been receiving the types of contributions that we\u2019re seeing now in the market.\u201d<\/p>\n The maximum age pension<\/a> for singles is currently $30,646, which falls short of industry benchmarks for both a modest and comfortable lifestyle.<\/p>\n Do you have a story to share? Contact tamika.seeto@yahooinc.com<\/a><\/p>\n The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia\u2019s (ASFA) latest budgets<\/a> found a single homeowner would need $34,522 a year for a modest lifestyle and $53,289 for a comfortable lifestyle.<\/p>\n Gascoigne said this meant many people would \u201conly barely just meet\u201d that modest lifestyle mark if they had about $50,000 in superannuation, plus received the age pension<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThat $4,000 gap can be met by those savings, but it might not be sustainable for a very long time. It might only be in the medium term that they can supplement the age pension,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut the issue is, without that additional buffer of retirement savings, how\u2019s one going to be able to meet future unexpected costs down the track?\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s worth noting that the average superannuation balance<\/a>, as reported by the Australian Taxation Office, is higher.<\/p>\n Its latest data showed the median super balance for someone aged 65 to 69 was $208,143, while the median balance for someone in the 70 to 74 age bracket was $215,009.<\/p>\n This would still fall short of ASFA\u2019s standard for a comfortable retirement, which is $595,000 for a single, but would meet the modest standard of $100,000.<\/p>\n For older Aussies who are worried about their superannuation balance, Gascoigne said there were options available.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s not about just looking at what you’ve saved and saying, well, that’s it. It\u2019s actually saying, What else can I leverage to give myself a better lifestyle?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n If you can\u2019t add more to your superannuation fund, Gascoigne said the next step was to think about how you structured your super and moving it from the accumulation into the pension phase<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cOne, there are tax benefits from moving the money into the pension phase that help to add to the longevity of the capital,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe second thing would be to have a regular income being discharged back to you. [That] can assist with fiscal discipline. It gives structure to drawing on your capital and emulates the type of experience that most people would have had during their working life.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s also worth looking at government support available, such as the ability to work and not have it impact your age pension through the work bonus<\/a>, and concession cards.<\/p>\n Downsizing<\/a> could be another option to release capital for your retirement, Gascoigne said. Another option for homeowners is the home equity access scheme<\/a>, which allows you to boost your age pension up to 150 per cent of the maximum pension rate.<\/p>\n It\u2019s worth contacting your super fund or your financial adviser to see what your options are.<\/p>\n \u201cSomeone who is licensed to give advice [can] alert people to the existence of these types of schemes and also recommend as to whether or not they\u2019re appropriate or not to pursue, and demonstrate what difference they are going to make,\u201d Gascoigne said.<\/p>\n \u201cHaving a low retirement balance doesn\u2019t necessarily mean having a bad retirement.\u201d<\/p>\n For people who are not yet in the retirement stage, Gascoigne said it was worth considering making extra contributions. Checking your super fund, including the fees, investment option and insurance coverage, is also important.<\/p>\n Get the latest Yahoo Finance news – follow us on Facebook<\/a>, LinkedIn<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n Aussie retirees are being urged to look at their super structure, the government support available and get advice to help them maximise their retirement income. (Source: Getty) <\/p>\n