Source: Roy Morgan survey, Australians aged 14+ with superannuation, March 23-27, 2011. n=1,597.

In a special in-depth study of superannuation by Roy Morgan Research we explored Australian awareness, interest and knowledge of this vitally important topic. The results, based on 1,597 interviews with people with superannuation show:

• Only 5% of Australians say they are ‘very knowledgeable’ about superannuation, 41% are ‘fairly knowledgeable,’ 46% are ‘not very knowledgeable’ and just 8% are ‘not at all knowledgeable.’

• 21% of Australians are ‘very interested’ in how their superannuation is managed and a further 48% are ‘fairly interested,’ 26% are ‘not very interested’ and only 4% are ‘not at all interested.’

• Australians report low involvement with superannuation, 46% are ‘not very involved’ and 27% are ‘not at all involved’ in the management of their superannuation. Only 7% of Australians say they are ‘very involved’ and 19% say they are ‘fairly involved.’

• More Australians rate their superannuation funds performance at least fairly well – 11% ‘very well,’ 53% ‘fairly well,’ 16% rate the performance ‘fairly poorly’ and 5% rate it ‘very poorly.’

• Australians are also generally happy with the administration of their superannuation fund: 13% rating the funds administration ‘very well’ and 48% rating it ‘fairly well.’ Only 15% rate their superannuation fund administration ‘fairly poorly’ and just 5% rate it ‘very poorly.’

• A small majority of Australians with superannuation say that they have either ‘not started preparing for retirement, but have thought about preparing’ (34%) or ‘have not prepared at all’ (31%) while slightly fewer either ‘have started preparing for retirement’ (21%) or have ‘seriously started preparing for retirement’ (13%).

These are the top line findings of the research – the research also shows substantial differences by age and gender (see following charts); there are also substantial differences between those who use a financial adviser, and hold different amounts in superannuation, self-managed superannuation vs. industry funds vs. other funds etc.


Michele Levine, CEO, Roy Morgan Research, says:

“Amidst discussion about increasing the mandatory superannuation contribution from 9% to 12% for Australian workers the question of Australians ability to fund our retirement is upper most in many people’s minds.

“It is crucial to understand the role of superannuation, Australians understanding, engagement, and interest in their superannuation and the extent to which they are seeking and receive advice.

“The related question of adequacy of superannuation – including: Who doesn’t have superannuation? Who doesn’t have enough to retire on? The role of employment for people beyond the ‘traditional retirement age’ will all be the subject of further analysis of the latest survey data.

“A real challenge for policy makers is the heterogeneity of the Australian population in terms of their financial status (affluence and income) and even more importantly the choices they make about working, spending and saving.

“Roy Morgan also looks at Australians who do not have superannuation and a detailed report of their employment situation and other important demographics is available for subscription.”

This survey was conducted with 1,597 Australian respondents aged 14+ between March 23-27, 2011.

Purchase the Roy Morgan Superannuation & Wealth Management Report.


Superannuation Questions by Age & Gender

1. Retirement Income

“In your opinion, where will most of your retirement income come from?”

		By Gender		By Gender & Age
				14-34		35-49		50+
	Australians 14+	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Superannuation	50	53	46	55	58	53	39	51	41
Age pension	19	15	22	6	12	15	26	25	31
Real Estate investments*	16	16	16	15	12	19	21	14	15
Investments & savings^	13	14	13	22	16	11	12	7	9
Other	2	2	3	2	2	2	2	3	4
TOTAL	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

*Real Estate investments include respondents’ primary place of residence.
^Not including Superannuation or Real Estate investments.
Base: Australians with Superannuation. Interviewed March 23-27, 2011.


2. Knowledge about Superannuation

“How knowledgeable are you about superannuation?”

		By Gender		By Gender & Age
				14-34		35-49		50+
	Australians 14+	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Very knowledgeable	5	7	3	4	3	7	2	11	5
Fairly knowledgeable	41	45	37	34	28	47	36	56	49
Not very knowledgeable	46	43	50	53	57	43	50	30	39
Not at all knowledgeable	8	5	10	9	12	3	11	3	7
Can’t say	*	*	*	*	-	-	1	-	*
TOTAL	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

*Less than 1%. Base: Australians with Superannuation. Interviewed March 23-27, 2011.


3. Interest about Superannuation

“How interested are you in the details of how your superannuation is managed?”

		By Gender		By Gender & Age
				14-34		35-49		50+
	Australians 14+	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Very interested	21	27	15	22	6	21	11	39	30
Fairly interested	48	47	50	41	46	55	51	44	52
Not very interested	26	23	30	33	41	20	33	14	14
Not at all interested	4	3	4	4	6	3	3	3	3
Can’t say	1	*	1	*	1	1	2	*	1
TOTAL	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

*Less than 1%. Base: Australians with Superannuation. Interviewed March 23-27, 2011.


4. Involvement in the management of Superannuation

“How involved are you in the management of your superannuation?”

		By Gender		By Gender & Age
				14-34		35-49		50+
	Australians 14+	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Very involved	7	8	6	4	5	5	3	15	10
Fairly involved	19	18	19	15	14	19	18	21	28
Not very involved	46	47	45	47	51	52	44	41	39
Not at all involved	27	26	29	31	28	23	34	23	23
Can’t say	1	1	1	3	2	1	1	*	*
TOTAL	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

*Less than 1%. Base: Australians with Superannuation. Interviewed March 23-27, 2011.


5. Funds performance (Such as growth in value)

“How well or poorly do you think your superannuation is currently managed in terms of the funds performance (such as growth in value)?”

		By Gender		By Gender & Age
				14-34		35-49		50+
	Australians 14+	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Very well	11	12	9	9	4	10	7	19	19
Fairly well	53	53	53	50	43	58	57	53	59
Fairly poorly	16	17	15	17	19	15	15	17	9
Very poorly	5	6	3	5	5	7	3	6	2
Can’t say	15	12	20	19	29	10	18	5	11
TOTAL	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

Base: Australians with Superannuation. Interviewed March 23-27, 2011.


6. Funds administration

“How well or poorly do you think your superannuation is currently managed in terms of funds administration?”

		By Gender		By Gender & Age
				14-34		35-49		50+
	Australians 14+	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Very well	13	15	10	8	3	15	9	24	23
Fairly well	48	47	48	45	42	48	50	48	51
Fairly poorly	15	16	15	17	19	16	16	14	9
Very poorly	5	7	4	6	4	8	4	6	3
Can’t say	19	15	23	24	32	13	21	8	14
TOTAL	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

Base: Australians with Superannuation. Interviewed March 23-27, 2011.


7. Started preparing for retirement

“Have you started preparing for your retirement?”

		By Gender		By Gender & Age
				14-34		35-49		50+
	Australians 14+	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Yes, seriously	13	15	12	3	1	7	6	37	31
Yes, have started preparing	21	22	19	7	9	29	20	33	31
No, but have thought about preparing	34	32	37	31	39	41	46	21	24
No, have not prepared at all	31	30	31	59	51	22	28	6	10
Can’t say	1	1	1	-	-	1	*	3	4
TOTAL	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

*Less than 1%. Base: Australians with Superannuation. Interviewed March 23-27, 2011.


For more details contact:

info@roymorganonlinestore.com