Superannuation funds and financial advisers can play a greater role in educating members, especially those members who are in the pre-retirement stage or retired, research by CoreData has found.
Around half the respondents to the survey classified their superannuation knowledge and experience as average, the firm said in its "Building a Nest Egg 2012" report.
Only a quarter of the more than 800 respondents said their knowledge was strong.
Of post-retirees, 31.1 per cent rated their super knowledge as strong, while only 24.3 per cent of pre-retirees did so. Pre-retirees are more likely to rate their super experience as average.
A considerable number of respondents also indicated they were overwhelmed by their super arrangements.
"While two in five (39.1 per cent) do not feel overwhelmed at all by retirement and super financial arrangements, the proportion of respondents who feel overwhelmed has increased year-on-year," the report said.
Post-retirees were less likely to be overwhelmed. Over half, or 56.7 per cent, said they were not overwhelmed by super and retirement finances.
But 69.3 per cent of pre-retirees were either a little or considerably overwhelmed.
"The results suggest the need for advice is greater in the pre-retirement phase," CoreData said.
The survey found the use of professional advisers was up from 37.2 per cent of respondents 12 months ago to 41.9 per cent now.
Professional advisers were the most common source of information for financial decisions for both pre and post-retirees.
This differed to members in the accumulation phase, who tended to rely more heavily on the media for information.
Post-retirees were more likely to have a dedicated adviser than pre-retirees.
On the other hand, pre-retirees were more likely to never have used one.
About 54.2 per cent of those who used advisers said their adviser had a considerable influence on their super and retirement decisions, giving them a rating of seven out of 10, while one-third said their adviser had some influence.
Tax minimisation followed by investment advice were the key financial advice needs in people's retirement. However, compared to 2011, both have dropped in importance, CoreData said.
About 43.2 per cent of respondents considered seeking advice through their super fund to be considerably attractive, a decrease compared to last year when 47.5 per cent found it attractive.
Three in five respondents agreed the investment options offered by their fund met their retirement needs.
"Interestingly, the same number agreed the fees and charges on their account [were] reasonable," CoreData said.
Last year, only 50.9 per cent agreed fees were reasonable.
