Many fear super not enough to retire on

NEARLY three-quarters of Australians are not confident they will have enough super to live on in retirement.

Many fear super not enough to retire on

MANY people are anxious about their retirement plans and think the Government will change superannuation tax rules by the time they retire, a new report shows.

A survey, commissioned by the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST), shows that nearly three-quarters of people are not confident they will have enough super to live on in retirement.

It also found they 67 per cent think the government will probably change the super rules by the time they retire and that they will lose a lot of their super in tax.

AIST CEO Fiona Reynolds said the survey findings of 2000 respondents were both surprising and disturbing, given that it was now 15 years since compulsory super was introduced.

The report highlighted the urgent need for the government to set targets for super well into the next decade and that there should be a bipartisan approach to the national retirement scheme between the two major political parties.

"Successive rule changes make people feel anxious about planning for their retirement," Ms Reynolds told the AIST's conference of major superannuation funds in Brisbane.

"We need super targets, we need super certainty.

"We need a plan to lift contribution levels from the current 9 per cent to 12 per cent by 2012 and 15 per cent by 2015."

Other findings from the survey showed 41 per cent of respondents were uncertain about whether the age pension would still be around when they retired.

Fewer than 30 per cent were "very confident" or "fairly confident" that they would have enough super to live on in retirement.

Many of those surveyed said they knew little about their superannuation, with only a third of them stating they could understand the language used in communications from their fund. .

"Given the low level of retirement savings in this country, the government and the superannuation industry face a challenge to ensure that Australians have a better understanding of the benefits that both compulsory and voluntary superannuation can deliver," Ms Reynolds said.

"Each fund member should be able to understand at least the general features of how the system works and the particular features of their own fund."

There was a need to regulate for clear consumer documentation that was easy to understand.

The survey also found that super ranks behind a home or an investment property in the retirement savings plans of many people.

"As housing affordability becomes a bigger issue, super will become the most significant asset for many people so it's more important than ever that consumers are engaged," she said.