RETIRED Coffs Harbour accountant Tom Caldwell said he does not believe thousands of self-funded retirees will abandon term deposits to buy million dollar houses, just so they can get the pension.

Although, he does believe some will take their money out of low-interest banking products to renovate their homes. And he will be one of them.

Responding to 87-year-old Gold Coast accountant Norm Barrington, who dubbed self-funded retirees "the forgotten race" in last month's Coffs & Clarence Seniors Newspaper, Mr Caldwell said home renovation was part of his planning for the year ahead.

READ: SELF-FUNDED RETIREES BEAR BRUNT OF ROCK-BOTTOM INTEREST RATES

Mr Caldwell added high fees and confusing, or misleading, information from investment advisers were as problematic for self-funded retirees as the record low interest rates.

Both problems have been noted in recent reviews into Australian banking and are among the reasons quoted for a royal commission into the independent retiree industry.

"Retirees would soon eat up their capital and find themselves needing the pension if low interest rates and high fees forced them to draw down their invested funds to cover their daily living expenses," Mr Caldwell explained.