Australia Snapshot

Australian retirement savers’ optimism about their retirement readiness has increased since 2023 and is high compared to global peers. But dig a bit deeper, and some clear areas emerge where Australians could benefit from more support.

First published in 2018, our Global Retirement Readiness Report explores how members of workplace retirement plans are feeling about their retirement. This year’s report, fielded in April 2025, surveyed 4,371 members saving into Defined Contribution (DC) schemes around the world, including: the US, the UK, Ireland, Canada, and Australia.

Each country’s retirement savings, public pensions, and healthcare systems are unique, which results in variations in savers’ retirement readiness. What’s unique about the Australian experience and how does it compare globally?

Retirement Confidence Jumped in Australia

Australian respondents’ retirement optimism has jumped from 24% in 2023 to 33% in the 2025 survey. Similarly, respondents’ confidence that they would be able to retire when they plan to jumped from 23% to 32%. What likely drove those increases?

Fieldwork for the survey was undertaken in late March 2025 and early April 2025, just as Australia was headed into an election and following dramatic geopolitical and economic developments in the US and elsewhere around the world.

Just like their global peers, Australian respondents’ top factor negatively impacting optimism was inflation and the cost of living (49% included it among their top 3 concerns), closely followed by the economy (40%). But inflation in Australia has actually eased from what it was in late 2022 and early 2023 (Figure 1). Back then, headline inflation in Australia had been even higher, hitting its peak in March 2023 before falling again through the back half of 2023 into 2024.
 

That’s not to say Australians are unconcerned about cost-of-living pressures now. And retirement optimism overall is still relatively low, even if higher than it was two years ago. There appears to be recognition that persistent high inflation and a weak economy can have significant consequences for longer-term retirement plans.

Gender Still Matters

Facts about gender and superannuation have been debated for years. Median balances for women are lower than for men across all age groups. Treasury’s long-term microsimulation model of retirement incomes and assets suggests women’s balances will continue to lag behind men’s due to both lower participation rates and the gender earnings gap, although both gaps are expected to close further in the decades ahead.

The confidence gap right now, however, is stark — only 24% of female respondents express either optimism about their financial preparedness for retirement or confidence they would be able to retire when planned. This compares to figures above 40% on both measures for men.

Women were less likely to have investments outside their superannuation fund (40% vs 53%) and were less likely to have a financial adviser (82% vs 76%). Among the top three factors negatively impacting confidence levels, both mortgage debt (or housing costs) and inflation figured more prominently for women (28% and 52%) than men (20% and 46%).

Incumbency Rules When it Comes to Retirement Income

Converting a lump sum accumulation balance into an income stream remains a significant concern for Australians.

When we asked respondents how much income they needed in retirement, there was a wide range of responses, with 48% selecting an answer between 30% and 80% of their current income. The wide range isn’t especially surprising given different income and asset levels, whether respondents are allowing for the Age Pension, and expectations of living standards in retirement. Only 22% had no concept of the income they might need in retirement.

However, 65% expressed concern about not knowing how much they need to save for retirement to meet those income needs.

While “how much” might still be an open question, “where from” seems much more settled. Australia’s retirement savers, more than any other country’s in our survey, expressed a preference for keeping their money in their existing superannuation fund when they retire. Only 14% thought it was unlikely they would use their existing fund, and 59% thought it likely they would leave it where it is.

While Australian superannuation funds continue to grapple with expectations from the broader community and the regulator on retirement income product development, it is clear they are working from a position of strength with their existing members.

In some ways, the relative strength of incumbency in Australia is unsurprising. Given workplace superannuation is delivered independent of the employer for most Australians, leaving an employer to retire isn’t the same catalyst to leave a plan as it may be in other countries. However, there could be other factors at play.

One might be the extensive work undertaken in the industry to streamline the system, making it easier for members to track their retirement savings and consolidate their superannuation accounts. Around 40% of respondents in the US, for example, still had a retirement plan left with a previous employer, with nearly 30% having two or more prior plans.

Healthcare Concerns Surprising in Australia

For a country that historically has been proud of its healthcare system, Australians are surprisingly worried about unexpected medical expenses in retirement.

When asked about factors that negatively affect confidence in readiness to retire, inflation (49%) and the economy (41%) were a top three consideration for many Australian respondents (particularly women). But so were medical expenses (27%), edging out the political climate (24%), mortgage debt or housing costs (24%), and a lack of spare money to save (21%). In fact, medical expenses rated higher for Australia than any other country we surveyed, including the US by a small margin.

It’s a salutary reminder for superannuation funds and financial advisers that retirement is about much more than a superannuation income stream. Complex interactions between the public and private health systems, concern about health insurance costs in an inflationary environment, and uncertainty about out-of-pocket costs are all possible retirement confidence detractors for Australians.

While they may not have topped the list of issues, there were plenty of respondents who also had concerns over financial dependency of children, or of elderly family members, or of complexity in superannuation and the Aged Pension.

Financial Planning Might be Coming of Age

Financial planning remains in the news for good reason — it plays a vital role in retirement confidence for many Australians.

While Australians might think our superannuation system is unique, there are some features that are ubiquitous. It’s not only Australians who want to maximise returns and minimise fees, for example. These were the top two ranked investment priorities in every country we surveyed. Financial planning can play an important role in helping Australians design the most cost effective investment solution that meets their return and risk needs.

Confidence levels among Australian respondents who have an adviser were much higher than other respondents: 64% of advised clients expect to be financially prepared for retirement while only 25% unadvised clients have the same expectation. Paradoxically — perhaps reflecting the benefits of extra guidance, education and confidence — advised clients were even more open to robo advice. Only 15% were a flat “No” compared to 47% for unadvised clients.

Australians recognise that finances can be complex. For those interested in financial advice, the top subjects selected were investment advice and retirement planning, matching the top priorities in other countries. Anyone following consumer credit and house price data in Australia would not be surprised to learn that debt management was third on the list, with 48% including this as a service of interest — well in excess of any other country in the survey. Estate Planning (42%) and Tax Planning (41%) rounded out the top services for Australian respondents.

And yet, less than 10% of our respondents have sought financial advice in the past six months. Of those that did, 68% sought advice from an independent adviser and 37% from their superannuation plan. Resistance to financial advice still boils down to perceptions of fees being too high (49%) and confidence in their own abilities (40%).

Turning Progress into Lasting Confidence

At State Street Global Advisors, we work with both superannuation funds and financial advisers to design strategies that align with evolving member needs by focusing on value, flexibility, and confidence-building solutions. Let’s work together to help people turn their retirement hopes into retirement reality. Get in touch to explore how.
 

About This Survey

Our global online survey, conducted during April 2025 with international data analytics firm YouGov, engaged a total of 4,371 individuals participating in workplace-sponsored savings plans (or the market equivalent) in Canada, Australia, Ireland, the UK and the US. Surveyed countries represent a range of retirement systems. Gender, age, and regional quotas were balanced to reflect employed populations within each country.