Huge super changes on the way

THE amount invested in superannuation will triple within a decade, but the industry will be vastly different from today, latest reports say.

Cash /File

Huge super changes on the way

THE amount invested in superannuation will triple within a decade, but the industry will be vastly different from today, latest reports say.

Accounting firm KPMG said the super funds industry, now worth about $1.1 trillion, will reach $3.3 trillion by 2017.

At the same time the number of funds with assets of more than $50 million will shrink from 293 today to 100. An earlier report by consulting actuaries Rice Warner said by 2022 no corporate funds could be left.

KPMG partner Sean Hill said the pace of growth was unlikely to continue as baby boomers started retiring and Australia's working-age population decreased.

"Unless the superannuation guaranteed contribution rate increases to 15 per cent and the present returns continue, the recent growth may peter out,'' he said.

"The net change in population for people aged between 40 and 69 is expected to decrease significantly over the next decade, diminishing growth in retirement savings as the boomers push into drawdown.''

Rice Warner said average member balances had increased from $45,700 in 2005 to $74,700 in 2007.

In 15 years' time this is expected to swell to $184,800.