In 2026, only 47 per cent of retirees are confident they won’t outlast their savings, compared to 60 per cent just a year ago.
Brighter Super’s 2025-26 State of Retirement report, based on research from Investment Trends, attributed this sharp decline to changing economic conditions. The report found that retirement confidence dropped nationwide over the past year, with the lowest figures reported in South Australia (38 per cent), Tasmania and Western Australia (both 34 per cent).
Pre-retirees’ preparedness for retirement also took a substantial hit this year, dropping to 31 per cent on average and “almost completely reversing the 2025 improvement and landing just two points above the 2024 low of 29 per cent,” the report said. The lowest levels of preparedness were reported in South Australia (25 per cent), New South Wales (29 per cent) and Victoria (31 per cent).
As to what contributes to pre-retiree preparedness, the biggest factors were account balance and time spent planning for retirement. On average, those who felt prepared for retirement had $438,000 in super (compared to $177,000 for those who felt unprepared) and started planning 6.6 years ago (compared to 3.8 years ago).
The other differentiator was financial advice. Around 30 per cent of those who felt prepared for retirement had used a financial adviser, compared to 18 per cent for those who still felt unprepared.
“These findings reinforce that retirement preparedness is shaped less by income alone and more by when people begin engaging with planning, guidance and financial decision-making. As national preparedness continues to fall, closing the advice gap remains the central challenge for the sector,” the report said.
Commenting on the report, Brighter Super chief executive Kate Farrar said: “This report reinforces how quickly sentiment can shift with changing economic conditions, and the need to focus on long-term preparedness rather than short-term confidence.”
She added: “The data suggests many Australians still judge their retirement readiness through the lens of recent market performance rather than long-term financial preparedness.”
The report’s conclusions on the role advice plays in retirement readiness echo similar findings from Signal Advisory, which released its Member Voice 2026 research in May this year. Signal found that those with access to advice were far less likely to feel uncertain about when they’d retire (13 per cent) compared with their unadvised counterparts (40 per cent).
Similarly, those with access to advice were substantially more likely (44 per cent) to have familiarity with certain retirement products such as account-based pensions compared to those without it (17 per cent).
At the time, Signal Advisory managing director Anthony Caneva said: “The clearest finding in this dataset is the gap between what Australians want and what they receive. Eighty per cent of unadvised members say financial advice would be helpful, while only fourteen per cent have used the service their fund already offers.
“The pattern repeats across retirement readiness, product literacy, and basic financial action. Demand is high; engagement is not. The system is not reaching the members who need it most. This is not a story about disengaged members – it is a story about access.”
I think people are losing faith in the whole Superannuation system , because the Government basically is leaving the Casualties of First Guardian and Shield – by the roadside after the accident – so to speak, the only thing Daniel Mulino talks about is CLSR, which would give retiree’s just over two years of the AFSA recommended funds, and links to Suicide Help Lines and Debt services – So the obviously understands that thousands of retirees are hurting so badly, but he is not acting to resolve the issue caused by the regulators sleeping or giving waring that investigations were about to take place, allowing First Guardian to move funds abroad – allegedly