Australian superannuation funds are delivering the third best retirement savings system in the world, with the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) warning that it is only “misleading analysis [leading] to sensationalist newspaper headlines” that suggest otherwise.
ASFA said that such headlines “only served to alarm Australians and detrimentally impact retirement outcomes”, saying that according to the 2017 Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index only the Netherlands and Denmark have better systems.
“It is important to compare like with like when making fee comparisons,” ASFA said.
“For example, investing in government bonds may come with a lower fee, but Australian super funds achieve high returns from unlisted infrastructure, property and other investments and these cannot be obtained by investing in indexed funds.”
The group also said that fees for managing Australian super funds were comparable to those in other countries with high levels of investments in equities, pointing out since the introduction of MySuper and other reforms fees had fallen.
ASFA also emphasised that:
“Superannuation is working … it is important to get the facts straight, because not doing so simply reduces confidence in the system, disengages the community and leads to worse outcomes in retirement,” ASFA said.
Australia’s second-largest super fund has confirmed it is expanding its presence in the UK following significant investment in the region.
A member of the super fund has approached ASIC to investigate potentially misleading or deceptive representations by UniSuper regarding the holdings of its sustainable portfolios.
The median growth fund delivered 1.9 per cent in March, adding to the “stunning” rally that has seen super funds gain 11 per cent since November.
Vanguard has affirmed its support for the current super performance test, emphasising the importance of keeping the process straightforward.
Add new comment