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Most Australians are failing to take control of their superannuation, due to a lack of understanding of how the system works and a general discontentment with recent superannuation fund performance, claims Yellow Brick Road executive chairman, Mark Bouris.
Bouris says that, with a system that continues to be ‘tweaked’ by the government and an industry which uses ‘confusing jargon’, it is not surprising that Australians are more than happy to turn a blind eye to their increasingly inadequate retirement savings.
The comments follow the launch of Yellow Brick Road’s new superannuation fund, RetireRight, complete with an eye-catching TV ad featuring a young mother being slapped in the face by her baby.
“Australians have two big financial goals in life: to own their own home and to retire comfortably,” says Bouris. “For Australians who are working hard today whilst raising a family and paying off their mortgage, retirement seems like a long way off. In reality, the average couple will need a million dollars to retire comfortably, and most people simply aren’t going to get there.”
He argues that Australians are living longer and that the country’s aging population will put pressure on the pension system as the ratio of taxpayers for every retiree reduces over time.
“The current compulsory superannuation guarantee is not enough, and with the Coalition flagging a delay to the proposed rise to 12%, it’s time that Australians take their future into their own hands.”
Bouris believes peoples’ detachment with super boils down to the fact that they’re ‘generally confused’ by the system and how it works.
“They don’t understand it and many people don’t actually see super as their money. That’s why Yellow Brick Road has launched RetireRight, in order to show people how their super works and give them the ability to choose how they invest their money. It’s a basic right that many people have been deprived of.”
“Research shows that too many Australians don’t have enough super to fund five years in retirement, never mind the 20 or more that they’ll actually be in it,” adds Bouris. “The only way to reverse this problem is to give people the knowledge and the tools to take control of their future. No one is doing that. The majors are competing for business at the top end of town – the clients who are earning a comfortable six figures. But then there’s the rest of Australia, the people who are slogging it out just to get by. Who’s looking after those people? The answer is no one, until now.”
