Michael Clancy

Key points

• Five segments of super fund members have been identified from the Qantas Super CSBA Retirement Confidence Index (RCI) data collected over the last two years: Confident Empty Nesters, Middle Class Families, Aspiring Up-and-Coming, Working Class and Survivors (detailed segment descriptions available upon request).
• Each segment has vastly differing levels overall of both confidence in a comfortable retirement and interaction with their superannuation.
• The RCI shows 7.4 million Australians with lower personal wealth – the Working Class and Survivors – have low confidence in a comfortable retirement, rating their confidence as less than three out of 10.
• Australians of lower personal wealth were also less engaged with their superannuation, with just 52 per cent of Working Class and 42 per cent of Survivors interacting with their superannuation more than once a year.
• By comparison, almost 80 per cent of wealthier Australians interacted with their super twice or more a year, including 69 per cent of Confident Empty Nesters and 81 per cent of Middle Class Families.
• Middle Class Families and Confident Empty Nesters combined rated their retirement confidence at over seven out of 10, significantly higher than their less wealthy counterparts.
• The RCI research shows that at the baseline, super funds need to provide more regular updates to positively engage with their members.

New research conducted by CSBA for Qantas Super shows Australians of lower personal wealth have low confidence in having enough money for a comfortable retirement, with many seeking more information and regular updates about their super. The RCI released today shows that the Working Class segment (including many middle-aged with low/medium income) rated their retirement confidence just 2.8 out of 10. Survivors (including many young single parents with low income) were even less confident, with an RCI rating of just 1.4 out of 10 (Figure 1).

Australians with such low confidence in their retirement were also less engaged and had lower trust levels in their super fund to act in their best interest (Figure 2). Less than half (48 per cent) interacted with their superannuation more than once a year, compared to almost 80 per cent of wealthier Australians.

Together, these two segments represent an estimated 7.4 million adult Australians.

“All of us in the superannuation industry should be really concerned that millions of Aussies have such little confidence that they will have enough money to have a comfortable retirement,” said Qantas Super CEO Michael Clancy.

“The RCI research shows that Australians with lower personal wealth often aren’t engaged with their funds. Super funds must act to improve their interaction with all of their members, especially the Working Class and Survivors, as the COVID-19 crisis brings so much uncertainty about the future.”

Members seek clearer information – and more of it

One in three (33 per cent) members in the Working Class and just over one in five (22 per cent) Survivors said more updates and information from their fund would encourage more active interaction.

Around a quarter (26 per cent) of the Working Class also sought personalised service that met their individual needs and life stage, whereas 25 per cent of the younger Survivors segment said making super easier to understand would motivate more interaction.

“Easier access to superannuation advisers to answer basic questions, and who can provide affordable financial advice, for example, would be of tremendous value to working class families who want more tailored service,” said Mr Clancy. “We’ve found such personalised guidance has been extremely popular with our own members.”

“For young adults in particular – both the Aspiring Up-and-Coming (younger, well-educated and more confident about the future) and Survivors – funds can make superannuation easier to understand, for example with easy to digest and relevant content.”

COVID-19 impacts all Australians

Even Middle Class Families and Confident Empty Nesters face an uncertain future. Their retirement confidence is highly correlated to external factors that affect their investments, such as a strong share market and a healthy economy and super balance – all of which have been shaken by the COVID-19 crisis. “Many with higher personal wealth have invested in shares and property markets that could be volatile for some time,” said Mr Clancy.

“The research shows Australians of all wealth levels would interact with their super funds more if they received more information and regular updates. Engagement, advice and education are now more important than ever.

“Many funds have investments that are well diversified and high quality, with excellent liquidity that can withstand the ongoing market uncertainty. Those are positive and important facts that super funds should not hesitate to tell their members.”

Chief Executive Officer, Michael Clancy said Ms Thurman’s appointment reinforced Qantas Super’s continued focus on risk and compliance for the benefit of our members and follows the careful implementation of the Three Lines of Defence (3LoD) risk governance model within the organisation.

“Suzette is a highly talented and accomplished risk executive, evidenced by her twenty-five-year track record of building and implementing robust risk frameworks in the financial services sector”.

“At Qantas Super exemplary governance is at the foundation of our business strategy. This regulates everything we do, including how objectives are set and achieved, how risks are assessed, how compliance is monitored, and how member outcomes are delivered,” Mr Clancy said.

“This year Qantas Super is celebrating its 80th anniversary, and as the only aviation corporate super fund in Australia, we’re delighted that Suzette will help set the course to deliver for our unique member base in the years to come”.

Ms Thurman will report directly to Chief Executive Officer Michael Clancy and strengthen the Qantas Super Leadership Team when she starts in December 2019.

Women still continue to lag behind in retirement confidence.

New research has found that women continue to lag well behind men in all aspects of retirement confidence and preparedness.

The Qantas Super CSBA Retirement Confidence Index (RCI) is the only quarterly barometer of Australian adults’ retirement confidence and asks respondents to rate their confidence in having enough money to retire comfortably, awarding a score of between 0 and 10, where 0-3 represents little to no confidence, 4 to 6 some confidence and 7-10 indicates a high level of confidence.

• Overall, Australian’s confidence that they will have enough money for a comfortable retirement increased slightly to an average of 5.1 out of 10, from 4.9 in December 2018 and equal to the levels in July 2018 (see appendix for the RCI methodology). 
• Although the gender gap has closed slightly on the previous quarter, the RCI found that women awarded an overall retirement confidence rating of 4.8 versus 5.4 for men.  
• Only 30% of women have a high degree of confidence that they will have enough money for a comfortable retirement, compared to 39% of men.
• Confidence is lowest amongst women without tertiary qualification, those on low incomes and those without investments outside their superannuation.

According to the RCI just 30% of women awarded a rating of between 7 and 10. The gap widened even further amongst younger women. Only 21% of women aged 18-29 years, 24% of those in their thirties and 22% of forty and fifty somethings expressed a high level of confidence in their ability to afford a comfortable retirement.

Commenting on the findings, Qantas Super CEO, Michael Clancy, noted that the recent celebration of International Women’s Day should act as a catalyst to discuss the gender disparity in retirement preparedness. 

“We strongly support a national discussion about women and their superannuation and wellbeing in retirement. This is a problem that must be addressed by both the private sector, employers and Government.”

Other gender differences uncovered

• Only 29% of women said they knew how much was needed for a comfortable retirement, compared to 40% of men. Again, younger women recorded lower figures with just 21% of women under 30 feeling equipped with the knowledge about how much they would need for retirement.

• Just 14% of women with no other investments outside of their superannuation, 21% of those on lower incomes and 25% of those without a tertiary education knew how much they would need to retire.
• The latest quarterly RCI shows that just 28% of women feel they can rely on their superannuation and other investments for retirement compared to 40% of men.

Clancy explained, “External factors can impact on retirement outcomes, but having a retirement plan in place that focuses on what you can control or influence is crucial. Retirement planning should be a lifelong undertaking for every Australian. For women, it’s particularly important to have a strong plan in place that accounts for the different chapters of their working lives.

For those who are starting to consider their retirement planning there is an abundance of free information on topics such as finding lost super, consolidating super accounts and salary sacrificing that are simple and sensible first steps for everyone to take”.

5 steps Australians can take to increase retirement confidence

1. Know your super balance: A recent study by Stockspot revealed that 15% of Australians didn’t know how much super they have. People who have greater clarity of their current situation are generally better placed to make decisions about their future.

2. Find lost super: The ATO’s latest estimate reveals there is $17.5 billion in lost super. All Australian’s can quickly and easily check for any lost super via the myGov website. Many Australians have multiple accounts and consolidating your super balances into one account is easy and simple to do.

3. Check your insurance: Australian’s often have death, disability and some even have income protection insurance built into their super. It’s important to know what insurance you have to understand your level of protection, the premiums you are paying and whether you need more or less insurance cover.

4. Calculate how much super you need for retirement: One of the most common questions we get from members is “how much super will I need to have a comfortable retirement?” Using calculators like the ASFA Super Guru Retirement Tracker can help you work out what income you are likely to have from super and the age pension when you retire. This information can help you decide if you should make additional contributions to super and how long you may need to work in order to have the income you want in retirement.

5. Improve your understanding of how super works: Contributing to many Australian’s apathy toward super is a lack of knowledge around how super works and its importance in providing income in retirement. Online education tools, like Qantas Super Fit, can help people improve their knowledge so they can make more informed, confident decisions about their financial future.

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Women still continue to lag behind in retirement confidence.

New research has found that women continue to lag well behind men in all aspects of retirement confidence and preparedness.

The Qantas Super CSBA Retirement Confidence Index (RCI) is the only quarterly barometer of Australian adults’ retirement confidence and asks respondents to rate their confidence in having enough money to retire comfortably, awarding a score of between 0 and 10, where 0-3 represents little to no confidence, 4 to 6 some confidence and 7-10 indicates a high level of confidence.

• Overall, Australian’s confidence that they will have enough money for a comfortable retirement increased slightly to an average of 5.1 out of 10, from 4.9 in December 2018 and equal to the levels in July 2018 (see appendix for the RCI methodology). 
• Although the gender gap has closed slightly on the previous quarter, the RCI found that women awarded an overall retirement confidence rating of 4.8 versus 5.4 for men.  
• Only 30% of women have a high degree of confidence that they will have enough money for a comfortable retirement, compared to 39% of men.
• Confidence is lowest amongst women without tertiary qualification, those on low incomes and those without investments outside their superannuation.

According to the RCI just 30% of women awarded a rating of between 7 and 10. The gap widened even further amongst younger women. Only 21% of women aged 18-29 years, 24% of those in their thirties and 22% of forty and fifty somethings expressed a high level of confidence in their ability to afford a comfortable retirement.

Commenting on the findings, Qantas Super CEO, Michael Clancy, noted that the recent celebration of International Women’s Day should act as a catalyst to discuss the gender disparity in retirement preparedness. 

“We strongly support a national discussion about women and their superannuation and wellbeing in retirement. This is a problem that must be addressed by both the private sector, employers and Government.”

Other gender differences uncovered

• Only 29% of women said they knew how much was needed for a comfortable retirement, compared to 40% of men. Again, younger women recorded lower figures with just 21% of women under 30 feeling equipped with the knowledge about how much they would need for retirement.

• Just 14% of women with no other investments outside of their superannuation, 21% of those on lower incomes and 25% of those without a tertiary education knew how much they would need to retire.
• The latest quarterly RCI shows that just 28% of women feel they can rely on their superannuation and other investments for retirement compared to 40% of men.

Clancy explained, “External factors can impact on retirement outcomes, but having a retirement plan in place that focuses on what you can control or influence is crucial. Retirement planning should be a lifelong undertaking for every Australian. For women, it’s particularly important to have a strong plan in place that accounts for the different chapters of their working lives.

For those who are starting to consider their retirement planning there is an abundance of free information on topics such as finding lost super, consolidating super accounts and salary sacrificing that are simple and sensible first steps for everyone to take”.

5 steps Australians can take to increase retirement confidence

1. Know your super balance: A recent study by Stockspot revealed that 15% of Australians didn’t know how much super they have. People who have greater clarity of their current situation are generally better placed to make decisions about their future.

2. Find lost super: The ATO’s latest estimate reveals there is $17.5 billion in lost super. All Australian’s can quickly and easily check for any lost super via the myGov website. Many Australians have multiple accounts and consolidating your super balances into one account is easy and simple to do.

3. Check your insurance: Australian’s often have death, disability and some even have income protection insurance built into their super. It’s important to know what insurance you have to understand your level of protection, the premiums you are paying and whether you need more or less insurance cover.

4. Calculate how much super you need for retirement: One of the most common questions we get from members is “how much super will I need to have a comfortable retirement?” Using calculators like the ASFA Super Guru Retirement Tracker can help you work out what income you are likely to have from super and the age pension when you retire. This information can help you decide if you should make additional contributions to super and how long you may need to work in order to have the income you want in retirement.

5. Improve your understanding of how super works: Contributing to many Australian’s apathy toward super is a lack of knowledge around how super works and its importance in providing income in retirement. Online education tools, like Qantas Super Fit, can help people improve their knowledge so they can make more informed, confident decisions about their financial future.

The post 5 steps women can take to lift their retirement confidence appeared first on AdviserVoice.

As part of the quarterly Qantas Super CBSA Retirement Confidence Index, the survey of more than 1,000 Australians was conducted during October 2018 and unearthed the following insights:

• Half of respondents did not report any impact on how they view their superannuation fund in the wake of the Royal Commission
• 21% reported a more negative view of their fund
• 9% reported a more positive view of their fund
• The remainder of the population were undecided.

Full results from the Qantas Super CSBA Retirement Confidence Index (RCI) will be released next week.