Australia has maintained its top 10 rating in a global retirement survey for the second year, conducted by Natixis Investment Managers (Natixis IM) and CoreData Research.
The survey assessed material wellbeing, health, finances in retirement, and quality of life in retirement in countries worldwide.
Australia scored highly on finances in retirement and on health which compensated for the lower score in material wellbeing (which considered income inequality, income per capita and unemployment) and placed seventh worldwide.
The best country overall was Iceland followed by Switzerland and Norway.
Some 85% of Australians felt financially secure, 73% were confident they would be financially secure in retirement and 58% felt their financial knowledge was strong.
However, four in ten thought it will ‘take a miracle’ to retire securely and 31% felt they would never have enough money to retire.
These worries were caused by uncertainty because of the pandemic, low interest rates and future inflation despite the fact the Australian stockmarket had seen double-digit returns since the March 2020 downturn.
Country head for Natixis IM, Australia and New Zealand, Louise Watson, said: “While 61% of investors accept they will have to work longer than anticipated, other factors may prevent this from being possible.
“The survey also highlights the need for investors at all levels of wealth to engage with their retirement. Working with their superannuation fund and a financial adviser who can tailor an investment portfolio to their needs and goals can highlight strategies investors may not have considered.”
