Retirement dreams may be drifting further out of reach for Australians, with experts warning we may need to rethink our plans for the golden years.
Working mum Jodie Imam is among those who no longer sees herself as heading towards a traditional retirement.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Aussie workers worried they’ll run out of money in retirement.
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“I don’t see myself having this big amount of money to be able to retire with,” Imam said.
“So I actually don’t plan to retire.”
Imam is focussed on balancing work with life, rather than on leaving work behind entirely.
This may be the new norm, with a new retirement survey by investment management company Vanguard finding one in three working Australians believe they will still be paying a mortgage off when they retire.
Already, one in five retirees are renting.
Four out of five people surveyed were worried they will outlive their retirement savings.
“I think Australians have this view that they’re going to be homeowners, and they’re going to be debt-free in retirement,” Vanguard spokesperson Daniel Shrimski said.
“Where, in actual fact, many Australians are going to be drawing on savings.”
‘Retirement may not come’
This means more people could turn to the aged pension.
“The reality is, for many Australians, retirement may not come,“ Australian National University researcher Dr Liz Allen said.
“We’re kind of waiting on this series of unknowns that could quite honestly be a serious crisis point for government coffers.”
The new data also suggests we can be our own worst enemies — with 40 per cent of Australians currently without a retirement plan.
When we do conduct research, most of us just turn to Google but people should contact their superannuation fund and engage with a financial adviser if possible, Shrimski said.