The mental load of retirement is not evenly experienced

The CFS Rethinking Retirement 2026 report highlights a significant mental load around retirement. The concern is not evenly experienced.

Women report higher levels of worry than men across the leading retirement concerns. Nearly two in three women, or 62%, worry they will not have enough money to live comfortably in retirement, compared with 48% of men. Women are also more likely to be concerned about unexpected health and aged care costs, at 53% versus 46%, and outliving super savings, at 41% versus 34%.

The report also found a gender gap in perceived retirement preparedness, with 53% of men feeling prepared compared with 34% of women.

These findings are important because they show retirement concern is not only a question of balances. It is also shaped by how secure people feel about income, costs, longevity and control.

That is particularly relevant in client conversations where the stated issue may be financial, but the underlying concern is certainty. The client may be asking whether the numbers work, but also whether retirement will feel manageable.

The report’s preparedness data reinforces this. More than half of Australians who feel unprepared worry about retirement, compared with only 15% of those who feel prepared.

The decade before retirement adds another layer. Among Australians aged 50-59, 61% worry they will not have enough money to live comfortably. Retirement is close enough to feel real, but there may still be uncertainty about income, timing and trade-offs.

For advice businesses, the insight is not that women need a different version of retirement planning. It is that retirement conversations may need to make room for the concerns behind the strategy: income visibility, longevity, health costs, contingency planning and flexibility.

That is also where product architecture matters. Retirement income solutions are most useful when they support the advice strategy, not when they narrow it.

Retirement Income Optimiser may have relevance where clients want to preserve future income options and consider Age Pension outcomes as part of a broader strategy. Pension Bonus may be appropriate to discuss where eligible CFS clients are approaching the transition from super to pension.

Used lightly and contextually, these solutions can support a broader conversation about confidence, certainty and choice in retirement.

The report’s message is not that retirement worry can be solved with one product or one conversation. It is that preparedness is closely connected to how people experience their future.

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.