Members and employers put more into super in the June quarter with total assets increasing by 2.2 per cent or $35.1 billion, according to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority's (APRA's) quarterly superannuation data.
Superannuation assets increased 15.5 per cent to $1.62 trillion for the 2013 financial year while total assets increased by 2.2 per cent for the June quarter.
Contributions to larger funds were $25.9 billion in the June quarter, an increase of 24.6 per cent ($5.1 billion) compared to March. Employers contributed $19.6 billion, an increase of 16.3 per cent on the March quarter while members contributed $6.1 billion, an increase of 62.4 per cent on March figures.
Retail funds received 34.4 per cent ($8.9 billion), industry funds 32.9 per cent ($8.5 billion), public sector funds 29.2 per cent ($7.6 billion) and corporate funds 3.5 per cent ($0.9 billion).
Outward rollovers exceeded inward rollovers - retail funds had net outward rollovers of $145 million, industry funds $347 million, corporate funds $627 million and public sector funds $659 million.
The total estimated assets of public sector funds increased by 3.9 per cent ($9.6 billion) to $256.8 billion, industry funds increased by 3.8 per cent ($11.8 billion) to $323.2 billion, corporate funds increased by 2.2 per cent ($1.3 billion) to $61.7 billion while retail funds increased 1.8 per cent ($7.4 billion) to $422.4 billion.
The two funds have announced the signing of a non-binding MOU to explore a potential merger.
The board must shift its focus from managing inflation to stimulating the economy with the trimmed mean inflation figure edging closer to the 2.5 per cent target, economists have said.
ASIC chair Joe Longo says superannuation trustees must do more to protect members from misconduct and high-risk schemes.
Super fund mergers are rising, but poor planning during successor fund transfers has left members and employers exposed to serious risks.