When ASFA CEO Mary Delahunty recently met with Simon Welsh, Director at RedBridge Research and ASFA’s Chief Policy & Advocacy Officer James Koval to discuss the findings of a major ASFA-commissioned study into Australians’ attitudes toward superannuation, the conversation uncovered some valuable insights. The research brought encouraging news around levels of trust in the system, but it also highlighted important areas for improvement and emerging risks that the industry can’t afford to ignore.
People trust their super funds to make good decisions
The research showed that trust in super was high, with around three-quarters of people surveyed expressing confidence in their super fund to make good decisions and act in their best financial interests.
Interestingly, the research showed that the trust was high in both the absolute sense, with 76% of people expressing a high degree of trust. But also high in the relative sense as when RedBridge looked at where superannuation and super funds sit in relation to banks, insurance companies and other finance sector players, it showed super funds sat above all these for trust.
What varying demographics say about super
While there’s been no shortage of volatility recently, there are still positive results showing across the board.
Those aged around and over 65 particularly are really seeing the benefits of the system which makes sense since people who are moving into retirement will have higher balances than those just entering the workforce.
But even amongst younger Australians, high levels of support for super can be seen.
However while over 68% agreed with the concept of super among the overall population, it dropped to about 31% for those speaking languages other than English at home.
Ensuring super is more accessible to more people
For the survey, RedBridge spoke to people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and found two main barriers in their engagement of super:
- Unlike many Australians for whom super is simply “part of the furniture” who understand and are onboard with its purpose, newcomers to Australia may not have the same ingrained attitude or familiarity with the super system.
- Much of the information provided by super funds is not presented in a way that’s easy to navigate for those who don’t speak English as a first language.
More advocacy work is needed by the super sector to improve coverage
While Australia is made stronger by its multicultural background, and the aim is that everyone should feel and know that super is a national asset, if it’s not getting through to some of the people for whom English is a second language, then this is not being achieved.
And while there are strong pillars that make superannuation such a success, sectors like gig economy workers raise questions about whether coverage is sufficient.
So while there’s a strong focus on ensuring equitable outcomes for all Australians, the support being provided at the low-income end of the spectrum must keep up.
What younger Australians are saying about super
The advocacy angle matters because the recent federal election showed just how influential young and diverse voters have become. Especially as they’re set to shape policymaking for at least the next term and probably the next 20 years of Australian politics.
Looking at the research results for the 18 to 34-year-olds, these were strong, but not as strong as for the older cohorts, likely due to lower engagement and where super sits in their priorities.
The survey asked people about the super for housing policy and this was quite popular amongst the 18 to 34-year-olds due to their current financial pressures.
With younger and more diverse cohorts becoming a driving force in politics, making the case to them about the importance of super is going to be really critical for future advocacy.
The impact of COVID-era early release of super
The COVID early release scheme saw many people either significantly reduce their super balance or in some cases entirely close their super accounts.
And for some people, particularly in that younger demographic, it has meant withdrawing everything and effectively starting from scratch. So, therefore there’s not the same level of compounding and growth compared to those with higher, uninterrupted balances.
People happy to let super funds manage their money
When asked if funds provide better long-term financial outcomes for Australian than if they managed it themselves, the survey showed a considerable amount of people felt their money is better off in super than them managing it themselves.
So where does this high degree of trust in their super fund come from?
RedBridge says there’s two parts to this.
The first is the sense of security. The idea that people feel their money is safe, it’s well looked after, and there’s good things happening with their money.
The survey results speak to this sense of it being in the right place and therefore their retirement is going to be okay.
And while people could get all this from a bank – that is, have their money tucked away, getting a good return and it’s safe, secure and not going anywhere…
However what’s different about super funds is that, for a super fund to do well, its members must do well.
So the second part is this idea of mutuality. Something not seen with banks and other financial institutions.
Managing the trust with potential risks ahead
There is a perception that because someone has contributed to super all their life they’ll be able to live well in retirement, and without a pension. But this will not be the case for everyone.
As Generation X starts to get closer to retirement, they’ll start to tune in more to balances and do the sums that tell them how much super they need.
And while it might be five or ten years away, there’s the risk for the industry that some people will start to realise they’re not going to be able to have the retirement they thought they would.
To hear the full conversation with further insights, tune in to Episode 1 of ASFA’s Voice of Super Podcast here.
