Retirement
Investors turn on super as reform lingers, markets falter
Voluntary super contributions have reduced slightly, after reaching record highs in recent financial years, against a backdrop of ongoing reform and market volatility.
Investors turn on super as reform lingers, markets falter
Voluntary super contributions have reduced slightly, after reaching record highs in recent financial years, against a backdrop of ongoing reform and market volatility.

According to data released today by superannuation research agency SuperRatings, average voluntary super contribution declined by 10 per cent over the 2017 financial year to $1,054.
However, this drop in investment is only $158 per year less than the 2008 financial year, which saw the highest average contribution of $1,212. It is also $260 more than the 11-year average.
Despite more than halving in the years succeeding the GFC, voluntary contributions have been slowly increasing. Nevertheless, it is currently unclear how the volatility of 2018 has impacted member contributions.
In spite of such fluctuations, super balances have remained ahead throughout the last decade. SuperRatings revealed last week that $100,000 invested in a balanced option account in 2008 would have grown to $193,71 by the end of September 2018. This indicates a 9.7 per cent annual return over the 10-year period, despite the volatility of the first two weeks of October seeing a loss of $2,700 for balanced option members.

In the same time frame, members with accounts 100 per cent exposed to Australian shares have seen a decrease of around $4,800.

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