Retirement a long way off for older workers

Australia could see a boom in the "grey collar workforce" in the next decade, as older employees find they do not have enough money for retirement. 

Suncorp Superannuation's "Rise of the Grudge Years" report revealed a gap between Australians' ideal and real retirement ages. 

This means they may have to work 11 years more than they want to, and this represents the "grudge years" for those aged 65 and over. 

"People often have retirement dreams of what they would like to do and when they would like to retire but they just cannot do that," Suncorp executive manager of superannuation Cathy Duncan said. 

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As lifespans increase due to advances in healthcare and medicine, older workers are facing a "double edged sword", she added. 

The report showed 70 per cent of Australians would not be emotionally or physically prepared to work till the grave, but 2.6 million people may be forced to do so out of financial necessity. 

The over-65 workforce currently makes up just 3 per cent of the total workforce, but research showed this will grow to 23 per cent over the next 10 years.  

Financial need will mean 1.2 million Australians over the age of 65 will remain in the workforce over the next decade. 

Only 3 per cent of Australians have an ideal retirement age of 75 years or older, while 48 per cent want to retire between 60 and 69 years. 

Yet 42 per cent realise that in reality they will be working into their 70s, with 23 per cent of these believing they will have to work into their 80s. 

Researchers were most alarmed by the fact that Australians needed to accumulate significantly more super before they retire, with 36 per cent needing more than $400,000 more in their super before doing so. 

Only 18 per cent of today's baby boomers currently have enough money for their retirement, according to the research. 

Research also showed 61 per cent of survey participants would be "not at all likely" or "unlikely" to be physically or mentally able to work beyond their 60th birthday.  

Duncan said employees need to think about superannuation in bite-sized chunks. 

"They should ask themselves: 'where am I now? How much money do I need? How many years do I need to work? What kind of lifestyle do I want?' 

"They then need to put more money in there and salary sacrifice when they can afford it. Look at super as an asset and not as something your employer or government does," Duncan said.