Australians agree: people need financial advice

The rising cost of groceries, petrol prices, rents and mortgages is a constant reminder of how important it is to manage our money – both for our current and future financial goals and our peace of mind right now.  

So it’s no surprise that 93% of Australians believe people need financial advice. The majority (52%) think that advice is most needed by people doing it tough financially, or those on an average wage (22%)¹.  And the most popular topics for advice were super and investments. 

These findings have informed the CFS Empowered Australian Report, which is based on a wide-ranging survey of 2,247 Australians – some of whom were receiving advice and some who weren’t. Our report also found that people receiving advice tended to have a financial strategy in place and be more confident about their financial goals, especially their retirement, compared to those who were unadvised.  

While most Australians agree that financial advice can help, many aren’t accessing its benefits due to cost. However, our research found that almost three quarters of Aussies already receiving advice would be interested in using their super to pay for it.  

Younger Australians aged 25 to 29 were most interested in using super to pay for advice, with 76% of men and 70% of women in this age group saying they’d consider it. And more than half (52%) of unadvised Australians said they’d think about using their super to pay for a retirement plan. 

These findings show that people want and need financial advice. But in these financially tough times, not everyone can find the money to cover the cost of advice.

The Government’s recent signal that it will allow people to use their super to pay for advice on a broader list of topics, including appropriate investment options within a fund and retirement income, is likely to be welcomed by many Australians. As our survey shows, many would be willing to pay for professional financial guidance if they could use their retirement savings in super to do it.

At CFS, we’re here to help empower our members to reach their financial goals. So if you’d like to take the next step and seek advice, you can use our online tool to search for an adviser in your area. Alternatively, to find out more about how advice could help you, call our friendly team on 13 13 36. 

Download the report