Baby boomers focus on retirement

Australian baby boomers may remain focused building their retirement nest eggs, but other generations of Australians have other priorities, according to new research released by Sunsuper.

Among the more surprising findings to emerge from the research, home ownership has also declined in importance, according to Sunsuper's general manager, customer experience Teifi Whatley.

Home ownership aspirations have taken a backseat to Australians' dreams of financial independence, according to the first of six Sunsuper reports assessing people's goals and attitudes toward their finances.

Participants also expressed surprising attitudes towards superannuation and wealth generation, according to Whatley. 

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The 'Great Australian Financial Dream' report surveyed 1300 Australians across Gen Y, Gen X and baby boomers and found home ownership ranked fifth on their list of financial priorities.

Owning a house in the suburbs was considered less important than financial independence, winning the lottery, buying a new car and taking a family holiday. 

Whatley said the results were surprising, but different demographics differed in their attitudes to wealth generation.

"For instance, Gen Y's great financial dream is having a good job. They see this as their gateway to financial independence and achieving their other financial goals," she said. 

"Baby boomers, on the other hand, are squarely focused on building personal wealth and having enough on which to retire, with 52 per cent viewing their superannuation as a way to help them achieve their financial independence." 

Whatley said it was surprising that retirement wasn't a pressing issue for many baby boomers who were approaching it.

Conversely, 41 per cent of younger generations saw superannuation as a way to help them achieve financial dreams and expressed less concern with short-term goals such as home or car ownership.

The research found that the biggest stumbling block all generations face is the rising cost of living, but despite this, participants were not willing to sacrifice their creature comforts to achieve financial independence.

Attitudes towards the source of their economic woes also differed, with baby boomers more likely to blame the global financial crisis, and Gen Y and Gen X most likely to point the finger to their bosses and poor salaries.