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Millions of Australians could be too poor to retire, survey finds

Millions of Australians could be too poor to support themselves when they stop working, after a survey found 23 per cent of respondents do not have enough saved for retirement.
A Finder survey of just over 1000 people found almost a quarter did not have enough funds in superannuation or other investments to "get by in retirement", equating to about 4.6 million Australians.
Another 27 per cent admitted they were not sure if they would have enough.
Millions of Australians could be too poor to support themselves when they stop working after a survey found 23 per cent of respondents don't have enough saved for when they retire. (iStock)
Women are also worse off than men, with 27 per cent admitting they do not have enough super or investments compared to 18 per cent of men.
Only 28 per cent of those surveyed believed they had enough funds to retire through their super or through investments.
Finder money expert Sarah Megginson said superannuation was something most Australians, especially young people, did not engage in enough.
"It can be a sad case of too little too late for many who realise that by the time they reach retirement age, their super balance will fall well short of the amount of money they will need," Megginson said.
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"The age pension is asset-tested in Australia, so you may not qualify."
She said there were simple ways to save more money such as consolidating super funds or looking into making voluntary contributions, potentially through salary sacrifice.
"Any income earned within your super is capped at a maximum tax rate of 15 per cent per annum," she said.
"If you currently pay say 32.5 per cent tax, you're ahead immediately.
"For instance, if you salary sacrifice $1000 over 12 months, you'd pay $150 on that income and $850 will go to super, where it will be invested for your future.
"Otherwise, you'll pay $325 tax on that money and have $675 in your bank account."
Megginson also warned Australians to check that they were not paying huge fees for their super fund.
The information provided on this website is general in nature only and does not constitute personal financial advice. The information has been prepared without taking into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on any information on this website you should consider the appropriateness of the information having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs.
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