Welp, it looks like more than half of Australians won’t have enough superannuation to live on by 2070, which is *about* as god-awful as it sounds.
According to new projections by Rice Warner, you’ve got about a 50% chance of, uhhh, being able to afford to keep yourself alive in retirement.
The concerning new data reveals that approximately 53% of Australians will be fully self-funded by retirement, which is… not a lot considering the concept of superannuation is half a century old.
Despite being 31% more than the current number of self-funded retirees, that figure still means that roughly half of us will still need a pension by the time we retire.
“If you’re on a low income you will never build up enough to be totally self-reliant but you will be better off than just the pension,” financial strategist Theo Marinis told the Daily Telegraph.
To put it simply, it’s a big yikes for young Aussies.
The data comes after more than $33 billion has been withdrawn through the early-access superannuation scheme amid the coronavirus pandemic, which will likely have detrimental impacts on the future financial security of thousands of young Aussies.
According to the Daily Telegraph, young Aussies and those on low-incomes have withdrawn the most from their super through the scheme, with countless people completely draining their super fund.
Obviously, some people have been forced to dip into their super as the pandemic and subsequent recession has wreaked havoc on life as we know it. But experts suggest that you should consider this a “loan from yourself” and should pay it back as soon as you can afford it.
The new data comes as people continue to debate whether we should raise the compulsory 9.5% superannuation guarantee to, you know, make sure we’ve got enough cash to survive.
“The SG would need to be between 15 per cent and 20 per cent to give everyone a comfortable retirement and not have any age pension,” Rice Warner executive director Michael Rice told Daily Telegraph.
Superannuation sounds really complicated and like a future-you problem, but taking an hour or so out of your day to teach yourself the basics and make sure your money is ~working~ for you could make a world of difference for your future.
If you *still* can’t be fucked learning, I’ve simplified it into this Idiot’s Guide To Sorting Out Your Superannuation for you, as a little treat.
