Gap between retirement goals and contributions

Most Australians know how much they will need to meet their retirement financial goals but only a small number a making extra contributions.

That is the finding of a survey commissioned by industry super fund Club Plus Super, which found only 24.5 per cent of all Australians are making extra contributions to their super that will help them reach their retirement goal even though 55.2 per cent know how much money they will need in retirement.

The survey also showed that three out of 10 (31.9 per cent) would like to dip into their super for residential property investments, 17.3 per cent for credit cards, and three out of 10 (30.5 per cent) for mortgages.

The fund's CEO Paul Cahill said this gap of what people need and how much they contribute is a gap that needs to be solved now before too many Australians depend on governments and taxes to support their retirement.

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"When considering this inconsistency in the context of an ageing population and continued stresses on government budgets, it's quite possible that Australia may be headed into a perfect storm where retirement standards may fall," he said.

Of the 1358 fund members surveyed, 50 per cent said household income was a barrier in making extra contributions while 11.6 per cent would rather spend the money now and 10.5 per cent said they would think about extra contributions in the future.

Of those with more than one super fund, 13 per cent had a self-managed super fund, down from 14.6 per cent since two years ago.