Majority retirees don’t have a financial adviser

Although Australian retirees believe that having a financial adviser is important for their finances, the majority of them are not involved with financial professionals, according to the new research from Franklin Templeton.

Only 24% of Australian retirees used a financial adviser which was one of the lowest rates compared to countries such as Canada and the US where 57% of retirees and 47%, respectively, used an adviser, the study found.

Further to that, only 54% of Australian retirees with a spouse or partner said they coordinated their retirement planning with them prior to retirement.

Also, 81% of those retired had never had a written retirement income plan and only 43% said they had a strategy to generate income for retirement that could last 30 years or more.

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“Given ongoing market volatility and protracted low interest rates, it would be unwise for retirees to adopt a set and forget approach to their savings and investments and this is often where those working without professional advice become unstuck”, Manuel Damianakis, head of retail for Franklin Templeton in Australia, said.

“As an industry and as a society, we need to navigate a better path where all retirees can access professional advice and still feel they have sufficient self-management and control.”

The survey was conducted in Australia for the first time in May 2019 through an online questionnaire with more than 2,000 Australian aged 18 or older.