The majority of Australians are underestimating their socioeconomic status, with 66 per cent believing they are either middle class or lower middle class when, in fact, only 20 per cent belong to this category, MLC research showed.
In a whitepaper titled ‘Australia Today’, a survey of 2,040 Australians showed there was a disconnect between the definition of ‘lifestyle’ and ‘standard of living’, with many Australians describing the middle class lifestyle as having a professional job, owning a house and car, and being able to send their children to private school.
MLC chief executive and NAB Wealth group executive, Andrew Hagger, said the research indicated that perceptions of what the middle class meant had significantly changed from 20 to 30 years ago.
“But, while we have changed our spending patterns, have we also changed our savings patterns? Is the current super system helping Australians achieve the standard of living they aspire to in retirement?” Hagger asked.
The paper said 40 per cent of Australians actually fit into either the upper class or middle class categories when measured against criteria such as income, occupation, and home occupancy.
The average household income of the middle class sat at $77,676 per annum.
The research also found half (46 per cent) of all respondents were living pay-cheque to pay-cheque, including one in five of those with a household income of more than $200,000.
“In order to prepare ourselves to tackle this issue, we must first ask some relevant questions — are we living for today, not tomorrow? And are we arming ourselves with the right knowledge to prepare ourselves for retirement?” Hagger asked.
Meanwhile, with median house prices sitting at more than $1 million in Australia’s largest city, respondents no longer thought being worth $1,000,000 meant they were rich.
Half of those surveyed said they expected the government to do more to help middle class families.
“Yet we know people contribute less when government tinkers or even discusses tinkering with the system. Super is a long-term product that needs stable policy,” Hagger said.
Wow, the 2000 people (out of 22 million Australian) surveyed by MLC must be the wrong kind of sample. They make the whole country sounds like spoiled brats. “OMG, my yacht is so expensive, I am so poor now”.