Gen Z seeking retirement advice in droves

Younger Australians are showing surprising levels of concern about their retirement, with Roy Morgan finding that Generation Z is the demographic most likely to ask friends and family for advice about retirement planning.

At 30 per cent, the portion of Gen Z-ers asking for advice was nearly double that of any other generation. Just under a fifth of Millennials asked family and friends for retirement planning advice, with 13 per cent of Gen X and 14 per cent of Baby Boomers asking.

Baby Boomers were the most trusted source for advice, with 14 per cent being asked for retirement planning tips. In contrast, just eight per cent of Gen X, seven per cent of Pre-Boomers and Millennials and four per cent of Gen Z were considered trusted advisers on the topic.

The chart below shows this breakdown between info seekers, who seek advice from family and friends about retirement planning, and trusted advisers, who are asked for advice, across generations.

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Roy Morgan chief executive, Michele Levine, said the research showed that the financial services sector shouldn’t discount young Australians in their customer recruitment plans.

“Although the aggregate banking and financial assets of Generation Z of around $120 billion are significantly lower than older generations such as Millennials ($900 billion) or Generation X and Baby Boomers (each over $1.5 trillion), these results show that banking and finance companies looking for new customers need to target younger Australians as they enter the workforce rather than wait until these workers settle into working life and build their wealth,” she said.