“Left in the dark with no one to trust” 

Super Consumers Australia says Australians deserve independent, conflict free retirement advice 

Super Consumers Australia is urging the Retirement Income Review to direct its fact finding mission towards simplifying the retirement system, with a survey showing that half of retirees find the system too complicated.  

“Retirement planning has become far too complex, people are left in the dark with no one to trust. People need answers not an avalanche of financial product disclosures, tax laws and pension eligibility tests,” says Super Consumers Australia Director, Xavier O’Halloran.

The consumer advocate conducted a survey of over 10,000 CHOICE members and supporters. The survey found that more than half (57%) of retirees find the system too complicated. This figure jumps to 83% for those yet to retire.

“Our research found the top two sources of information for retirement planning were financial advisers and super funds. The findings come on the back of two recent ASIC reports that show the majority of financial advice from banks and superannuation funds is breaching the law, with advisers prioritising their own interests over their clients.” 

“Despite the Hayne Royal Commission findings, conflicts are still rife in financial advice. At the moment too many people are relying on conflicted advice to help manage their retirement money,” says Mr. O’Halloran.

In 2019 the UK government established a single financial guidance body to bring together many of the functions that sit in a range of organisations in Australia. It is now providing direct conflict-free financial advice at scale to people planning their retirement.

“We can’t rely on Australia’s outdated advice model. The Review needs to look to overseas examples for providing affordable, conflict free advice,” 

“The UK model has its merits, ultimately it is user paid via a levy on industry, but it is a model that overcomes the conflicts inherent in the Australian advice system,” says Mr. O’Halloran.