According to a report from the ASC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR), Australia’s superannuation system is very much characterised by a lack of engagement.

“While default super funds, contribution rates and investment options may be suitable for many members, it is likely that lack of engagement means that members forego opportunities to maximise their post-retirement wellbeing,” the report said.

Super fund members who chose to take out a residential mortgage in 2014 – the year analysed by the study – were found to exhibit changes in their superannuation contribution behaviour both before and after the mortgage’s commencement.

More interestingly, the timing and size of such changes differed by mortgage type (whether owner-occupier or investment), employment status (employee or self-employed) and key demographics (such as gender, age and income).

For people who became new owner-occupying mortgagees, the research discovered they were more likely to have increased their superannuation guarantee contributions 13 months before the mortgage start and maintain such contributions for the three years following the mortgage’s commencement.

On the other hand, new investment mortgagees were less likely than the average super fund member to make salary sacrifice contributions 15 months prior to commencing their mortgage and did not appear to restore such contributions after the fact.

Similarly, there was a decrease noted in the proportion of self-employed super fund members making personal contributions to their superannuation prior to taking out an investment mortgage. This was not restored following the mortgage’s commencement.

According to the research, investors appear to re-weight their portfolios towards real estate and away from superannuation, whereas owner-occupiers tend to build up superannuation after the real estate purchase.