According to the SMH, superannuation savings are woefully inadequate and will leave Australians nearly $700 billion short of what is needed to live decently in retirement, according to new research.
The Investment and Financial Services Association has calculated that by the middle of 2008 Australians had a retirement ”savings gap” of $695 billion, a dramatic increase on the $452 billion gap when the group last assessed super contributions.
The latest numbers do not include the worst of the global financial crisis, so the gap is likely to have grown. More recent data was not available. The figures mean the average savings gap is $73,000 a person, an increase of $26,000 over the previous four years.
Reverse mortgages and equity release products are a natural part of the solution to this, but the sharp reduction in lenders and product choice arising from the global financial crisis will impair the ability of some pensioners and retirees to find a solution.
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