The Plug-in was pleased to work with a consortium of researchers from UniSA Business School, RMIT and Edith Cowan University to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic downturn influences the financial planning decision of Australians aged 55 years and older, including those planning for retirement and those already retired.

The Plug-in was appointed to support Stage 2 of the project by recruiting 60 older Australians for a series of one-one-one phone interviews in selected capital cities and regional areas around Australia during September and October 2020.

Participants recruited by The Plug-in were aged 55 years and older and living in metropolitan Adelaide, across a range of income levels, living in Adelaide, Brisbane, Hobart, Melbourne, Sydney and regional South Australia.

The participants represented a diverse cross-section of the population including those whose retirement income is or will be from the age pension, from a self-funded income or a combination of both.

The Plug-in collected 236 individual responses to the recruitment campaign, with 63 being selected to participate in the project based on the defined selection criteria.

All recruitment and communications with participants were managed by The Plug-in — this included the provision of detailed project participant information; project consent; scheduling of interviews; and personal reminders to participants in advance of their scheduled interview.

This project formed Stage 2 of a broader project being conducted by the consortium of researchers. The data collected will be used by the research team to compile a survey that will be distributed to a larger sample of older Australians, with survey data to be collected in February 2021. The goal of the survey is to create a national dataset of older Australians’ overall financial wellbeing that can be used to co-design an assurance information package to assist older Australians with their financial decisions in times of crises, with an anticipated completion by the end of April 2021.

Thank you to all The Plug-in influencers who participated or registered their interest to participate in this important project.

Participation in this project was voluntary. Personal information is not used or shared without express consent — you can read more about our privacy policy on our website.

For further information please contact us on (08) 8224 5526 or email connect@theplugin.com.au