Retirees face gap between their dreams and reality Most Australian baby boomers are financially unprepared for retirement. MOST Australian baby boomers are financially unprepared for retirement but still don't think they'll have to make sacrifices in their winter years. These are the findings of a REST Industry Super survey of 1,200 people who were aged over 50 but had not yet retired. One in three respondents admitted they were completely financially unprepared to take the jump, while a further 51 per cent said they were only "somewhat" financially prepared. "What we found is some sizeable gaps between what baby boomers are envisaging for their retirement and what the reality will be," REST CEO Damian Hill said. Golf, family time and travel ranked high on respondents' lists of what they were looking forward to about retirement. But the savings they thought they would need for their comfortable retirements were well below Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia estimates of $56,236 annually for a couple and $41,090 for singles. The over-50s surveyed were also reluctant to seek formal financial advice - only 30 per cent had done so. "While some see no need or handle their own affairs, many actually consider financial advice to be too expensive or not trustworthy," Mr Hill said. If and when it comes to the crunch, 44 per cent of those surveyed said they could go without a new car in their retirements, while 35 per cent were prepared to give up booze and tobacco and just under a third were willing to live without home improvements. Yet 41 per cent said they would be unhappy to give up international holidays and 39 per cent were reluctant to say goodbye to dining out.