Smoking habits may signify where you put your super

By Grace Ormsby

September 23 2019
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Your super fund preference may say a lot more about you than you think, with new personas providing insight into the patronage of two of Australia’s best-performing super funds, as ranked by consumer satisfaction.

Smoking habits may signify where you put your super

The insight comes from a recently released Roy Morgan report, Satisfaction with Financial Performance of Superannuation in Australia.

As well as ranking a number of retail and industry super funds by level of customer satisfaction, Roy Morgan was able to tease out a “typical” member of the top-ranking industry fund (and top-ranking fund overall), Cbus, and the top-ranking retail super fund, Macquarie, using the data gleaned in a survey for the report.

Do you fit into the following?

Cbus superannuation fund (industry)

According to the report, Cbus members are middle-class and blue-collar Australians who do not obsess over their health.

The most satisfied super fund member group, a quintessential member of the Cbus superannuation fund, would be a man aged 35-49 years old, hailing from Victoria and earning $70,000 per annum in his full-time job.

Roy Morgan also considered Cbus members to be “far more likely” to be in skilled employment than average Australians but also twice as likely to be concerned about their image and having people look up to them than the average Australian, for factors including “wearing the right clothes, driving the right car [and] living in the right area”.

The survey has also been able to glean information about food preferences, with a Cbus member more likely than the average Australian to “enjoy food from all over the world” and “restrict how much fattening foods he eats”.

At the same time, he’s less likely to be a vegetarian, think about the calories in the food that he is eating or favour natural medicines or health products.

Roy Morgan also revealed the regular Cbus member is more likely than the average Australian to enjoy watching soaps, reality TV and sports.

Similarly, he’s more likely to read fishing, motorcycle and motoring magazines and almost twice as likely to be a heavy commercial radio listener (three or more hours per day).

The typical Cbus man is also twice as likely as the average Australian to be a smoker, the research found.

Macquarie superannuation fund (retail)

Roy Morgan has reported that Macquarie members tend to be wealthier Aussies who are close followers of the financial news.

It revealed that a member of the Macquarie superannuation fund is also more likely to be a man, but slightly older, in the 50-plus range.

With two-fifths of Macquarie members hailing from New South Wales, it’s unsurprising that this is where the “typical” member hails from.

According to the survey, Macquarie super members are well educated, with degrees or diplomas, and well-off, with an average income of nearly $80,000 and an average household income of nearly $150,000.

They are more than twice as likely to be from the top socioeconomic quintiles than average Australians, it was reported, and whether a cause or effect of their wealth, they have been reported as tending to seek out detailed information about their options and consider the consequences of each choice carefully before making a decision with regard to their values.

Macquarie super members are more likely than average Australians to agree that they make decisions based on logic, not emotions; find television advertising annoying; and are not interested in advertising posters in shopping centres.

In terms of financial views, the typical Macquarie member would indicate their preference for investing in assets with a safe return, likes to be well insured and “feels financially stable at the moment”.

Roy Morgan also reported that when it comes to media, the average Macquarie member is more than four times likely than the average Australian to watch business-related shows on TV; far more likely to watch sci-fi, drama and sports shows; more than twice as likely to read business, financial and airline magazines; and far more likely to read national newspapers during the week and also on the weekend.

In an especially stark contrast with a Cbus member, a Macquarie member is more likely than the average Australian to be a non-smoker.

Commenting on the findings, Roy Morgan’s chief executive officer, Michele Levine, said the analysis of Cbus and Macquarie members shows “significant differences between the two sets of clientele”.

She said for super funds to ensure they are providing the best service to their members, which has the effect of improving customer satisfaction, “it’s vital to understand what sets their members apart from the average”.

About the author

Grace Ormsby

Grace is a journalist on Momentum Media's nestegg. She enjoys being able to provide easy to digest information and practical tips for Australians with regard to their wealth, as well as having a platform on which to engage leading experts and commentators and leverage their insight.

About the author

Grace Ormsby

Grace is a journalist on Momentum Media's nestegg. She enjoys being able to provide easy to digest information and practical tips for Australians with regard to their wealth, as well as having a platform on which to engage leading experts and commentators and leverage their insight.

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Retirement