Australian Superannuation - Articles & White Papers

The global top 300 pension funds is an annual study. The research highlights high-level trends in the pension fund industry and provides information on how the characteristics of these top funds have changed. The top 20 pension funds made up 42% of total AUM in 2023

We thought it might be useful to explore how the asset allocation of UK pension funds - particularly their allocation to domestic and international equities - compares with other developed pension systems around the world. While comparing the asset allocation of ‘pensions’ in aggregate is a useful start, the wide range in…

The more the US needs capital and funding, the higher its currency goes. So too do speculative assets that benefit from US pricing – gold and bitcoin are prime examples. For Australia (in particular) and other developed economies, this has become a significant problem as the US draws our capital to sustain its growth.

The top 20 global pension funds with the largest dollar allocation to private equity have devoted a total of US$707.60 billion to the asset class so far in 2024. The big allocators prefer large, well-known firms. As of Oct. 22, Blackstone Inc. funds are the most popular, followed by TPG Capital LP, according to S&P…

Australia's superannuation system, often called "super," stands out as a global success in retirement solutions. Fueled by over three decades of compulsory employer payments, the sector's rapid growth has led to it playing a pivotal role in the Australian economy and, increasingly, in global capital allocation. However,…

In an independent report, commissioned by the Super Members Council, Mr Eslake charts how a long list of demand-side Australian housing policies over several decades have simply made homes more expensive. He warns super for a house would be the worst of all.

Australia’s super system was designed to be universal – for everyone – so the breadth of the Australian community can reap its rewards for retirement. But Australians under the age of 18 are currently only required to be paid super if they work at least 30 hours a week for the one employer.

The Global Pension Transparency Benchmark is a world first global standard for pension disclosure, bringing a focus to transparency in a bid to improve pension outcomes for members. The overall country and fund scores look at four factors: governance and organisation; performance; costs; and responsible investing, which are…

New research from ASFA, the voice of super, shows Australians no longer view reaching retirement age as a ‘stop sign’, with a significant proportion of people planning on working past 65 for either social or financial reasons. The research also shows only a small percentage of Australians believe they will never be in a…

Australians continue to invest in the production of nuclear weapons through their superannuation. In 2023, major superannuation funds invested at least $3.4 billion in companies that produce the worst weapons of mass destruction.

For the 2024 financial year, there were 32,747 new funds established. 5,702 SMSFs were wound up, meaning there were 27,045 net new funds created during the year. That net figure was more than double that of the prior year.

The Financial Stability Review provides the RBA's assessment of the current resilience of the financial system and potential risks to financial stability. It is issued half-yearly. The significant growth of the superannuation sector and its connections to Australian banks has increased its importance to financial system…

Before the 2022 Federal election, the Coalition proposed a ‘Super Home Buyer Scheme’ under which people would be allowed to withdraw up to 40% of their superannuation savings, up to a maximum of $50,000, to be devoted towards the purchase of their first home.

The 35th edition of our Global Survey of Accounting Assumptions for Defined Benefit Plans comprises 1,100 companies in 47 countries and regions.

According ASFA’s research, the latest data on superannuation account balances from 2022 show the average balance for men aged 15 and over is $182,667, with a median balance of $66,159. For women, the average balance was $146,146, with a median balance of $52,075. Super balances were also impacted heavily by COVID Early…

AustralianSuper this week learned the perils of “so-called” risky US private credit by writing off $1.1 billion of their members’ capital from an investment into Pluralsight, an online educational technology business.

Unpaid super is depriving millions of Australian workers their full legal entitlements for a dignified retirement. As this report shows, in one year, 2.8 million Australians were owed $5 billion in unpaid super.

We construct a novel database of pension reforms in 23 countries from 1970 to 2023. Based on a narrative identification and automated text filters we identify 1,828 legislated reform packages and determine whether those reforms improve or worsen the financial position of the current participants and the length of the phase‐…

The new financial year was initially off to a flying start for super funds, with the median growth fund (61 to 80% in growth assets) up 2% in July.

The industry performance statistics contains aggregate summaries of financial performance and position, asset allocation and key performance ratios. Statistics relating to corporate, industry, public sector and retail funds performance are also detailed.