Baby boomers miss the super train

Almost two-thirds of baby boomers feel they will need to rely on the age pension to sustain them through retirement, proving the super system came too late for some.

That's the finding from REST Industry Super's whitepaper, ‘The Journey Begins', which also showed 45 per cent of respondents do not have confidence in a system that faces constant rule changes.

"This group who started their working lives before the advent of compulsory superannuation are trapped between a rock and a hard place," REST CEO Damian Hill said.

Compulsory superannuation only started in the 1990s at 3 per cent and it will not be a mature system until the 2040s, he said.

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"In hindsight if you were able to start at the 20-odd years before it started that would've been great for the baby boomers. But it wasn't, and so we have to face the reality today."

The Australian Bureau of Statistics showed 82 per cent of over 55s own their own home, either with or without a mortgage, while the REST survey showed only 11 per cent had a superannuation balance over $400,000.

Hill said the lack of confidence in the super system could be behind this age group favouring housing assets instead of accumulating super.

Meanwhile 21 per cent are unsure of whether they will need an age pension to fund their retirement as they are confused on how much they need for a comfortable retirement.

The March 2014 ASFA Retirement Standard showed a couple that own their own home will need around $57,817 a year, along with a combined super balance of $510,000.

The survey showed 25 per cent have less than $50,000 in super, 12 per cent have $50,000 to $100,000, and 11 per cent have more than $400,000 while only 4 per cent have more than $700,000 in super.

Almost half (49 per cent) have some concerns about retirement, with finance topping the list, while 39 per cent said they would be retired already if they had a choice.