Australian retirees 'keen on gardening and DIY'

Whether it's painting a house or garden landscaping, it seems Australians are extremely keen on pursuing DIY projects in their retirement years.

A new report by BlackRock showed 34 per cent of Australians have plans for home improvements and gardening once they finish work, compared with 26 per cent worldwide.

The statistics showed it is affluent retirees who are doing most of the renovating, with 43 per cent claiming they have a DIY scheme up their sleeves.

On the other hand, 29 per cent of less wealthy older Australians said the same.

The data was compiled as part of BlackRock's Investor Pulse Survey 2013, which polled 17,600 people globally, including 1,000 Australians.

And it seems Australians notably take pride in their homes, with the country boasting one of the highest rates of investment property ownership in the world at 15 per cent.

"We spend more of our planning time on purchasing a new property … are more interested in paying off the mortgage on our homes and are more interested in saving a deposit for a new home," the report said.

"Not surprisingly, in retirement Australians are more interested than their global counterparts in home improvements and gardening."