A list of the key findings and a thought or two are listed below:

35% of those surveyed thought paying off the house produced a much better return than superannuation;

Many Australians do see their house as a cashable asset they can sell to fund their retirement. The reality is that many of those who do downsize to fund their retirement expenses find that they cannot find a house or suburb of similar standing to that to which they had become accustomed – they end up having to reestablish themselves in a community they do not like.

41% of respondents thought the Age Pension would not exist when they retire;

If that is you I hope you have made provision for your retirement – even I think this will be the case – one day, just not sure when.

66% believe that the government would change the rules by the time they retired;

Many people tell me that they won’t invest into super because the government always changes the rules. Let’s look at a few of those changes – the Superannuation Guarantee levy – that’s good, Tax free after 60 – that s great, Preservation – makes sure it is there for its original purposes, The tax on contributions – can’t fathom the logic behind that – let’s hope that the changes that people think will happen relate to the contributions tax. It’s hard really to find fault with many of the changes – super really is super.

30% were worried that their fund would go broke and their nest egg will be gone;

So what are they doing about it? Diversification could probably help in this regard, as would paying a little attention to your investments.

30% said they knew nothing or very little about their superannuation;

Probably the same people who complain about government being involved in everything they do and then complaining that government needs to do something because they didn’t.

Only 6% were confident they would have enough to retire on;

And probably expect someone else to take responsibility for their inaction.

20% don’t know how much superannuation they have;

I really wonder what these people think will happen when they retire – this is really scary, we as individuals and adults need to be responsible for our own financial well being.

27% could not imagine the day they will stop work.

Me neither, but it’s going to happen one day – either we die, get made redundant or too sick to work, but everything ends one day.

I apologise if any of this seems harsh, but really our laissez faire attitude while endearing is a recipe for disaster especially when it comes to taking responsibility for our own retirements. It has been said many times that the average person will live about 20 years in retirement while their investments will live about 3 years – I hope you are not one of the people destined to a life of poverty after all those years of hard work.

This publication has been prepared to provide you with general information only. It is not intended to take the place of professional advice and you should not take action on specific issues in reliance on this information. In preparing this information, we did not take into account the investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs of any particular person.

Before making an investment decision, you need to consider (with or without the assistance of an adviser) whether this information is appropriate to your needs, objectives and circumstances. This information is provided for persons in Australia only and is not provided for the use of any person who is in any other country.