Shifting away from traditional high allocations to listed shares and cash/term deposits is unlikely to occur quickly, but retirement income product development will provide attractive options for older SMSF retirees, according to the SMSF Association.
Speaking on the Money Management Retirement Income Webinar, John Maroney, SMSF Association chief executive, said many self-managed super fund (SMSF) retirees had achieved good performance from ASX-listed companies due to franking credits.
“The shifting away from traditional high allocations to listed shares and cash deposits is unlikely to occur quickly,” Maroney said.
“There’s certainly increased interest in diversification and opportunities for this, particularly for those in their 70s and 80s, they have done particularly well over the most of their retirement already.
“They are probably less likely to shift quickly, but again it’s important for them to think about the future direction of their asset allocations and their product selections as well.”
Maroney said if cash returns remained as low as expected and the Age Pension could be accessed through better developed retirement products that would become an important consideration for retirement income planning.
“It’s quite a complex question that will require face-to-face advice, I don’t think many of the older retirees will be attuned to robo-advice,” Maroney said.
“But they do need to be able to access affordable advice from their financial planners, accountants and others involved in the process.”
Vanguard Super has reported strong returns across most of its investment options, attributed to a “low-cost, index-based approach”.
The fund has achieved double-digit returns amid market volatility, reinforcing the value of long-term investment strategies for its members.
Australian super funds notched a third consecutive year of strong returns, with the median balanced option delivering an estimated 10.1 per cent over the 2024-25 financial year, but an economist has warned that the rally may be harder to sustain as key risks gather pace.
AustralianSuper has reported a 9.52 per cent return for its Balanced super option for the 2024–25 financial year, as markets delivered another year of strong performance despite the complex investing environment.