Strong rise in contributions fails to stem super asset decline
Market performance has led the balance of superannuation assets to decline by 3.2% despite seeing contributions of $150 billion.
According to quarterly data from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) in the 12 months to 30 September, 2022, the total super balance declined from $3.43 trillion to $3.32 trillion.
This compared to a decline of 0.5% in the 12 months to 30 June.
The decline in MySuper assets was larger at 3.8%, declining from $922 billion to $887 billion, while those in self-managed super funds (SMSF) declined by 2.8% from $890 billion to $865 billion.
APRA said: “This was predominantly driven by rising global interest rates, pressures from disrupted supply chains and downward revision of global growth outlook”.
Contributions increased by 12% from $134 billion to $150 billion thanks to growth in employer and personal member contributions and strong labour force figures.
The increase in the Superannuation Guarantee from 10% to 10.5% in July saw employer contributions increase 10.4% to $111 billion.
Personal member contributions increased by 17% to $36.6 billion.
Pension payments totalled $40.5 billion over the year, an increase of 2.9%, which APRA said was in-line with long term trends.
AUTHOR
Laura Dew
Laura Dew is editor at Super Review. Prior to joining SR, she spent five years working at Investment Week in the UK covering asset and wealth management.
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