Australian superannuation account balances have reached a record high of $172,834 on average, according to research by the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA).
The research shows strong account balance growth across all demographics, with account holders aged 65 to 69 now averaging $420,934 in retirement savings. Among the nearly 18 million account holders aged 15 and over, males average $192,119 while females average $154,641.
While a gender gap in account balances remains, the gap has continued to close. Women now hold 43.6 per cent of the country’s super savings, up from 41.9 per cent five years previously.
Recently announced changes to the Low-Income Superannuation Tax Offset are expected to narrow the gap further.
“The increase in the superannuation guarantee to 12 per cent combined with strong investment returns from super funds mean Australians have more savings than ever put away for retirement. This is great news,” ASFA chief executive Mary Delahunty said.
The research shows the superannuation system has generated $1 trillion in savings that Australians would not otherwise have accumulated.
A 30-year-old median wage earner with $30,000 already saved in super is now on track to retire with $610,000, above the $595,000 needed for a comfortable retirement.
“The superannuation system is helping Aussies achieve much more economic independence in retirement than would be possible if the system wasn’t set up three decades ago.
“And that’s crucial, because economic independence is closely tied to a dignified post-work life. The system is doing what it was designed to do, for more and more people every year,” Delahunty said.
According to ASFA, fewer Australians than ever before are relying primarily on the age pension, with super increasingly becoming the main source of retirement income – marking a historic shift in how Australians fund retirement.
“The visionaries of the superannuation system foresaw an Australia that was less reliant on taxpayer-funded retirement, even as the population aged, because Australians would have substantial retirement savings of their own. More than 30 years later, we are seeing the fruits of that thinking in action,” Delahunty said.
The findings complement ASFA’s recent geographic analysis of superannuation balances, which showed that average balances range from around $224,000 in Canberra to $152,000 in Darwin, with population age, migration patterns and local income levels driving regional variations.
