Aussies not confident on future value of retirement savings

According to the results of MLC's Quarterly Wealth Sentiment Survey, which consisted of responses from 2,100 Australians in the final quarter of 2015, while the average amount respondents expect to retire on is $500,000, one in five expect to only save $100,000.

The survey also discovered that just over 10 per cent believe they will only have between $100,000 and $200,000, and that one in five Australians do not actually know how much they will have when they retire.

MLC highlighted these findings are a "good indication" as to why more than one fifth of Australians plan to keep working into their 70s.

While also finding that around one in two Australians view their super as an important investment vehicle for their retirement, MLC found many people expect they will fall short on what they will need. 

In fact, MLC found that women expect to fall "well short" of men when it comes to the savings in their retirement funds. In fact, around 40 per cent of Australian women do not expect to have enough money to retire on, compared with around 31 per cent of men.

"It is of particular concern that more than one in four Australian women also believe that they will have 'far from enough' to retire on," a report from MLC said.

"Around 39 per cent of men think they will have 'enough' to retire on, compared to 30 per cent of women."

The report continued: "But when it comes to having 'more than enough', very few Australians expect to achieve this goal – only seven per cent of men and four per cent of women."

MLC found the biggest barrier for Australians saving for retirement was not having any money to invest after living expenses. Participants then said not having a job, major health issues and living longer were also key barriers to saving.

"There are, however, some notable differences between women and men. In particular, women face bigger barriers arising from working part-time rather than full-time and taking time out from the workforce to raise their children," the report said. 

"They are also more reliant on their partners," it added.