Financial comfort isn't available to all
Savings, income, and housing shape whether we feel financially comfortable or tight.
Between 2012 and 2024, NSA partnered with investment management company Challenger each year to research different aspects of older Australians’ financial wellbeing, through the National Seniors Social Survey.
Our final collaboration was a 2024 report based on survey responses from around 4,700 older people, which partly focused on financial comfort.
Two thirds of those surveyed said they felt financially comfortable, leaving an unsettlingly large percentage (one third) who felt financially tight.
Most of us would expect the proportions would change depending on the sample’s savings, income sources and housing status – and sure enough they did.
While 84% of those with more than $350,000 in savings and investments felt comfortable, only 50% with less than $350,000 felt that way.
A similar 53% of people receiving the Age Pension felt comfortable, but if the pension was their sole source of income the percentage dropped to 25%.
And people with regular housing costs such as rent or mortgage payments were 61% less likely than others to feel financially comfortable.
The study showed that when people were making decisions about spending and saving, both their subjective feeling of financial comfort and their objective level of wealth came into play.
But interestingly, subjective financial comfort was more important.
Thinking about this, it’s easy to see how our perceptions can impact large scale financial matters like market confidence and inflation.
To find out more, read the full report Older People’s Financial Wellbeing and Preferences at nationalseniors.com.au/research/reports.
