The latest superannuation industry research has shown a definite link between financial advice and the level of confidence individuals have in their retirement savings.
The Mercer Superannuation Sentiment Index revealed of the people who received some form of financial advice, 43 per cent were confident they would have a sufficient level of retirement savings to sustain them in later years. This compared to 30 per cent of people who felt the same way who had not received financial advice.
In addition, 82 per cent of respondents who received financial advice also thought they had a strong or sophisticated knowledge of superannuation, but only 63 per cent of individuals who had no assistance from an adviser rated their knowledge that way.
The people who received advice were also generally more positive towards the investment performance and trustworthy nature of their superannuation funds.
"The more people are engaged with their superannuation fund, the more secure they are with its performance, regardless of external factors. They will take a longer-term view of superannuation, which is the right way to look at it," Mercer financial advice leader Jo-Anne Bloch said.
In regard to where people go for advice, 42 per cent of participants said they sought the services of a financial planner, 40 per cent said they approached their super fund and 24 per cent admitted they referred to their super fund website.
The survey results prompted Mercer to recommend a low-cost financial advice element be incorporated as part of the MySuper initiative.
"Advice is the key. In the context of MySuper it is important to understand that while advice is highly valued by superannuation members, it doesn't need to be a high-cost, fully-fledged advice service to be an effective engagement tool," Bloch said.
The survey received responses from 1028 working Australians.
