By Jennifer Duke.
About 20 per cent of Australians expect they’ll retire with a mortgage, with almost half anticipating they’ll have some form of debt, a white paper from a superannuation fund shows.
Currently, 10 per cent of retirees are paying off a mortgage and as fewer Australians own their homes outright, it’s likely indebtedness in retirement will climb.
The latest research from REST Industry Super found 46 per cent expected to retire with debt. This included 25 per cent anticipating credit card debt, 21 per cent with a mortgage, and 12 per cent with unpaid bills.
But many of those who said they were anticipating leaving the workforce with debt weren’t approaching retirement in the near future – those surveyed were 35-plus.
The research said this was due to the “sandwich generation” who were stuck managing a phenomenon described as “intergenerational dependency”.
This generation – those in their 30s and 40s – were often supporting adult children, including those who could not buy, and parents who had not accrued enough for a comfortable retirement.
Jenna Leo and her partner Mathieu Bertrand, from Wahroonga, have not yet bought a home as they have been caring for elderly parents.
Mr Bertrand said it was “going to be a big issue” for the current generation of working Australians.
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