Awareness of options could boost advice access: CFS

Superannuation is the number one topic Australians want financial advice on, however a significant proportion have little to no idea they can pay for it through their super.

Based on a survey of 2250 Australians, Colonial First State's (CFS) Empowered Australian report, 92% of unadvised Australians don't know they can use their superannuation to pay for financial advice.

Seventy percent of Aussies said they were not aware this was an option. A further 22% said they did know it was an option, but didn't know a lot about it. Just 8% said they were aware and had looked into it.

Some 45% of respondents said superannuation was the topic they'd most like to receive advice on, while 34% cited saving for retirement and 31% said planning for retirement.

Further, as for why they're not using an adviser, 36% said they can't afford it.

CFS said "this presents a major opportunity for super funds and advisers to raise awareness about this option."

"As government starts developing new guidance on super and retirement, this should also inform all Australians that if the financial advice relates to issues associated with how you could use your super to save for retirement, the cost of that advice can be deducted from your super account," CFS Superannuation chief executive Kelly Power said.

Overall, affordability remains a key barrier, particularly for those aged between 30 to 49, as 77% of Australians in their 40s, and 70% of all respondents would like to see advice priced according to their needs, from simple to complex.

From this, CFS sees an opportunity to build scaled offerings to meet demand for the younger cohort and those with simpler advice needs. It added that 26% of Australians who had previously received advice said they'd stopped as the services were no longer needed, suggesting new advice models and pricing structures could help advisers retain clients.

Finally, 80% of Aussies believe advice should be accessible to all, and half of all Australians would like their super fund to help them find an adviser in their area, CFS found.