Self-managed super funds (SMSFs) in Australia are privately run super funds for between one and six members who must also be trustees of their fund.
According to the ATO, 68% of SMSFs had two members in June 2022, typically a married couple, followed by 25% with just a single member. Those with three or four members made up just 7% of funds. While the maximum number of members was increased from four to six from 1 July 2021, by June 2022 less than 0.2% of funds had five or six members, indicating there may not have been much pent-up demand but it’s still early days.
How many SMSFs are there?
The latest available ATO figures indicate there were 594,334 SMSFs in Australia in June 2023, up 2.5%. This continued the steady growth of the sector, despite ongoing market uncertainty.
As you can see from the table below, the number of new funds established decreased slightly, as did wind-ups in the year to June 2022, resulting in the strongest increase in net establishments in many years.
Number of SMSFs
Estimate extrapolated from June 2023 data
Source: ATO
As at March 2024, 616,400 SMSFs in Australia had a combined total of more than 1.1 million members. Although this represents less than 5% of Australia’s population, they accounted for $933 billion in assets, or about 24% of the $3.9 trillion invested in superannuation. Only industry funds have a bigger slice of the super pie, with $1,349 billion in assets or 35% of the total. Increased inflows and earnings resulted in strong growth in assets of most fund categories except corporate funds, which lost further market share (down 17% to $47 billion or 1.2% of total market assets). Retail funds increased assets by 11% to $753 billion or almost 20% of the market, while public sector fund assets rose 9% to $542 billion, 14% of total assets.
What is the average and median SMSF balance?
The average account balance of individual SMSF members and their fund fell in the year to June 2022, due to the market fall in early 2022 and subsequent ongoing volatility.
The average balance is skewed by a relatively small percentage of very high balance funds (see the following table showing the percentage of funds with various asset balances), and the fall may indicate wealthier individuals seeking alternative investment vehicles as they retire and exceed their transfer balance cap. The median balance in the second row of the table below is perhaps a more accurate reflection of the typical fund.
While the median balance per member has been growing steadily, it is well below the average balance per member. Bearing in mind that the majority of SMSFs in Australia have two members, the average and median combined balance of SMSF fund members is provided in the third and fourth rows of the table. These are the latest figures available.
Source: ATO
The vast majority (86%) of SMSFs in Australia had balances greater than $200,000 in June 2021, as indicated in the table below. This is consistent with the generally held view that it is not cost effective to set up and run an SMSF with less than $200,000.
As our superannuation system matures, the percentage of funds with less than $200,000 is declining. At the other end of the scale, the ATO has only recently started providing figures for funds with $10 million to $20 million in assets, $20 million to $50 million and $50 million-plus.
Source: ATO
Age and gender of SMSF members
Perhaps surprisingly, the age of SMSF members is fairly evenly spread between the ages of 35 and 84, as indicated in the table below. Older members still have the numbers though, as do men. As at June 2022, the median age of SMSF members was 62 while the median age of SMSF members of newly established funds was 46. Overall, 53% of all members are men and 47% are women.
Source: ATO
SMSF trustee structures
According to the most recent statistics from the ATO, as at June 2022 approximately 66% of all SMSFs have corporate trustees while 34% have individual trustees. A corporate structure is becoming increasingly popular. In 2021–22, 86% of new funds were set up with a corporate trustee.
SMSF phases
A majority of all the SMSFs in Australia (55%) were solely in the accumulation phase (that is, solely accepting contributions by or on behalf of members) in June 2021, down from 59% four years earlier. The remaining 45% of funds were either partially (9%) or wholly (36%) in the retirement phase (formerly called the pension phase). This was a six percentage point increase in members wholly in retirement phase, as the baby boomer bubble gradually leave the workforce.
The bottom line
Self-managed super funds are now firmly entrenched in the Australian superannuation landscape. The number of SMSFs continues to rise despite the market uncertainty in recent years, along with individual member and overall fund balances. Most SMSFs have corporate trustees, with this structure becoming increasingly popular. SMSFs typically have two members, with more women getting on board. And an increasing number of funds are moving from accumulation phase to the retirement phase, as the system matures and Australia’s population ages.
Published by Super Guide 4 July 2024
Author Barbara Drury
Barbara is a financial journalist and author with over 30 years’ experience in Australia and the UK. She is a contributor to The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age Money section, and has worked for the Australian Financial Review and The Australian.
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