{"id":102017,"date":"2025-03-04T07:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-03T20:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/?p=102017"},"modified":"2025-03-04T01:15:00","modified_gmt":"2025-03-03T14:15:00","slug":"millennials-are-neglecting-financial-asset","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/millennials-are-neglecting-financial-asset\/","title":{"rendered":"Experts Warn Millennials Are Neglecting Their Biggest Financial Asset"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Young Australians are consuming vast amounts of financial content on social media, yet many remain disengaged from their <strong>superannuation<\/strong>\u2014a key pillar of long-term financial security. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite the wealth of information available, experts warn that a lack of active management could cost <strong>millennials<\/strong> tens of thousands of dollars in retirement savings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Financial experts caution that rising cost-of-living pressures are overshadowing superannuation, potentially leading millennials to miss out on substantial retirement savings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2025-03-03\/millennials-missing-out-by-ignoring-their-superannuation\/104987956\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ABC News Australia<\/a> reports that millennials aged 25 to 39 risk forfeiting tens of thousands of dollars due to limited engagement with their super, despite its long-term financial benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Millennials Disengaged From Their Most Valuable Asset<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>For many working Australians, superannuation is one of their most significant assets, yet it is often overlooked in favour of more immediate financial goals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ASIC Commissioner <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/simone-constant-b1a86678\/?originalSubdomain=au\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Simone Constant<\/a> emphasised the importance of super, stating that it is likely to play a bigger role for millennials than it did for previous generations, particularly given the rising cost of housing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite this, many young Australians remain unaware of how to optimise their retirement savings. Research by ASIC&#8217;s Moneysmart found that 48% of millennials admitted they were not knowledgeable about maximising their super, while 31% checked their super\u2019s performance less than once a year\u2014or not at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Social Media Finance Trends Exclude Superannuation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Financial literacy content is thriving on platforms like Instagram and TikTok, with millions of posts under the hashtag <strong>#personalfinance<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, the focus of this content tends to be on active investments rather than long-term savings strategies such as <a href=\"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/ca-anz-urges-government-superannuation-tax\/\">superannuation<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mitch Hall, a 31-year-old teacher interviewed by ABC News, reflected this trend, stating that most of the financial advice he encounters on social media is centred around investments, rather than super. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cYou have your active investments that you focus on, but then your super is more of something that builds up over time,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>This mindset may contribute to a passive approach, where younger Australians fail to consider how even small additional contributions to their super can accumulate significantly over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Cost of Inaction Could Be Tens of Thousands of Dollars<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The long-term impact of neglecting superannuation can be substantial. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/effiezahos\/?originalSubdomain=au\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Effie Zahos<\/a>, a finance journalist, illustrated this with a striking example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;A 28-year-old on the average salary doing nothing, just waiting on super guarantee contributions, will have around $700,000 at retirement in today&#8217;s dollars.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Experts argue that small voluntary contributions now can yield significant benefits later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;If you can drive an extra $20 a week now in your contributions it can mean $50,000 in the future,&#8221; stated Simone Constant.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Furthermore, superannuation offers tax advantages that other forms of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/government-announces-investment-women-health\/\">investment <\/a>do not. Salary-sacrificed contributions are taxed at a concessional rate of <strong>15%<\/strong>, compared to the standard <strong>30%<\/strong> for many workers earning an average wage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Barriers to Engagement: Cost of Living Pressures and Financial Literacy Gaps<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Many young Australians cite a lack of understanding and immediate <a href=\"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/insurers-crack-down-on-financial-abuse\/\">financial <\/a>pressures as reasons for not engaging with their superannuation. Kyla Little, a 25-year-old entrepreneur, admitted that she had never actively contributed to super.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p> \u201cI feel like I lack the resources to understand it very well,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Financial literacy challenges also play a role. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.australianshareholders.com.au\/about-us\/governance\/board-of-directors-lel-smits\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lel Smits<\/a>, Director of the Australian Shareholders Association, noted that difficulties with mathematics during school years could lead to a sense of being overwhelmed by financial topics like superannuation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Many millennials focus on investments and side hustles but overlook superannuation\u2014an oversight that could cost them thousands in retirement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":102021,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102017","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102017"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102017\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":102041,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102017\/revisions\/102041"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}