The Impact of Post-retirement Financial Market Participation on Retirement Income Sufficiency in Australia

Abstract

Using HILDA survey data, we document a strong positive relationship between post-retirement financial market participation and retiree income sufficiency in Australia. We find a 17% improvement in the income replacement ratio and a 3.26 times higher annuitised net wealth for financial market participants compared to non-participants. We further investigate how age, residence area, relationship status, education, health, and employment affect the main finding in all and female retirees. The results highlight the value of financial market participation in facilitating household retirement security and provide further support for the active promotion of household financial market participation, both in Australia and globally.