30 years of super changing lives in Mt Gambier

On the 30th Anniversary of Australia’s compulsory superannuation system, First Super has released data showing that its Mt Gambier members who joined the fund in 1992 have an average account balance of $190,277 – above the national average for superannuation accounts of $106,162*.

First Super comes out of the furniture, pulp and paper and timber industries and now covers workers all around Australia.

CEO Bill Watson said one in ten members of the fund who joined at the start of the Super Guarantee in 1992 now have a balance greater than $295,000.

“These outcomes demonstrate that the system is working as intended, giving workers a dignified retirement income, and reducing reliance on the aged pension at a time of acute cost of living pressures,” Bill Watson said.

“Some of those members with balances of over $295,000 are as young as 47, meaning that we can expect retirement balances well in excess of $1 million.

“The fact that so many people approaching the end of their working lives today are on track to be able to support themselves comfortably in retirement shows that the system is working as intended.

“For many millions of workers, the impact of being in a high performing fund for over three decades will be absolutely life-changing.

“Our challenge now is to ensure that the system works for everyone – particularly women who are most of the nation’s low wage workers, and who miss out on super when they take time out the workforce for caring responsibilities, and the nearly 10% of the workforce who miss out on super because they are contractors.”

*APRA Annual Superannuation Bulletin, June 2021

Media contact: Rebecca Nicholson – 0409 216053