The role advice is playing in retirement preparedness

One of the clearest findings in the CFS Rethinking Retirement 2026 report is the difference between Australians who receive financial advice and those who do not.

The research found 77% of Australians receiving financial advice feel prepared for retirement. Among those without an adviser, preparedness falls to 45%. Australians receiving advice also expect to retire at 64, compared with 67 for those who do not receive advice.

The report does not suggest advice alone determines retirement outcomes. But the association between advice, preparedness and expected retirement timing is difficult to ignore.

The finding sits within a broader pattern. Australians who consider retirement planning very or extremely important expect to retire at 66. Those who consider it only slightly important or not important at all expect to retire at 72.

That six-year difference points to the value of planning as a behavioural and strategic discipline, not simply a technical exercise. Engagement appears to matter: people who think seriously about retirement appear to have a clearer view of what is possible and when.

For advice businesses, this is less about proving the value of advice to advisers and more about articulating the value clients experience from advice: structure, visibility, trade-off management and confidence.

The research also suggests preparedness is linked with lower retirement worry. More than half of Australians who feel unprepared worry about retirement, compared with 15% of those who feel prepared.

That finding reframes retirement preparedness as both a financial and emotional outcome. A well-constructed plan can help bring abstract concerns into focus, whether the issue is income adequacy, sequencing risk, longevity, aged care costs or the level of flexibility a client may want to preserve.

It also supports the case for earlier retirement income conversations. If the client’s final decision may not be made until the point of retirement, the thinking, modelling and engagement can begin much earlier.

That is where integrated retirement solutions can support the advice process. Retirement Income Optimiser is designed to preserve future lifetime income strategy options while clients remain in super. Pension Bonus is designed to provide an additional benefit for eligible clients at the point of transition from CFS super to CFS pension.

Neither replaces advice. The value is in giving advisers more strategy levers to consider within the client’s broader retirement pathway.

Read in this context, the report reinforces a simple point: retirement confidence is built before retirement begins.

For clients seeking greater clarity around retirement income, strategies that combine retirement planning with income certainty may help support confidence alongside financial outcomes.

• Retirement Income Optimiser helps advisers improve retirement outcomes while preserving flexibility and keeping future options open.
• Pension Bonus is designed to reward eligible retirees who maintain their pension with CFS, helping to enhance retirement outcomes over time.