Retirees do not blow their retirement savings and then fall back on the age pension, as some sections of the financial services industry would have us believe.
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Retirees preserve their super savings for as long as they can by taking the money as an income stream rather than as a lump sum.
Analysis by Rice Warner on behalf of Colonial First State, shows for balances of more than $300,000, almost 87 per cent of accounts are taken as pensions.
For balances between $50,000 and $100,000, the split between accounts taken as lump sums and those taken as pensions is roughly even.
The research does show only 28 per cent of accounts with balances of $50,000 or less are taken as pension income.
It seems that those with small balances can see that their super savings is not enough to produce much by way of pension income. They have better uses for the money, such as buying a new car or spending it on their homes.
The research does not include payments from self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs), which tend to have higher account balances than members of large super funds.
If the Rice Warner research had included SMSFs it would likely re-enforce the trend even more – that those with higher balances tend to take more of their savings as pension income rather than as lump sums.
The results refute claims by sections of the financial services industry that so-called "double dipping" – spending retirement savings and then going on to the age pension – is widespread.
People will be retiring with higher account balances as they benefit from having a higher superannuation guarantee apply for a larger portion of their working lives.
That makes it very likely that future retirees will take an even higher percentage of retirement payments as income streams.
There are other factors that will result in more people taking their money as pension payments.
The age pension age is already legislated to increase to 67 from 65. It is government policy to increase that to 70, which would make it one of the highest, if not the highest age pension ages in the world.
Also, as announced in last week's budget, the assets test for the age pension will be tightened and many people with reasonable assets will no longer be receiving a part age pension.
Last week's budget also contained a new "taper rate"; the rate at which the part pension shades out as asset levels rise.
The bottom line is that home-owning retiree couples with assets of more than $451,500 will receive smaller age pension payments from 2017, when the budget changes to the age pension are to start.
Those pushing the myth that retirees are double dipping want to see the preservation age, the age at which retirement savings can be accessed, raised to 65 from 60 for most people now.
It would be a boon to the financial services sector, which would retain more of our super savings for longer, but severely disadvantage those in physical jobs who already find it a challenge to keep working to age 60.
