SMSF statistics: 1 million members with $726bn in super

Self-managed super funds (SMSFs) in Australia are privately run super funds that can currently have between one and four members (who must also be trustees of their fund). The government has proposed to allow SMSFs to have up to six members from 1 July 2019, but this is not yet legislated.

According to the ATO, the majority of SMSFs in Australia (70%) have two members, followed by 23% with just a single member.

How many SMSFs are there in Australia?

The latest available ATO figures indicate that there were 597,009 SMSFs in Australia in December 2018. This is an increase of approximately 3% on December 2017 figures, which is slower than the rate of growth in previous years.

The table below highlights that the number of SMSF wind-ups increased by nearly 20% in the 2017/18 financial year, and the number of newly established funds decreased by 17%. However, the table also highlights that the number of SMSFs has increased every year for the past five years.

Financial year	Establishments	Wind-ups	Total number of SMSFs
2013/14	33,364	12,634	521,511
2014/15	33,790	12,976	542,325
2015/16	32,865	12,244	562,946
2016/17	30,531	13,263	580,214
2017/18	25,458	18,580	587,092

Source: Australian Taxation Office

The nearly 600,000 SMSFs in Australia have a combined total of 1,127,304 members. Although this is less than 5% of Australia’s population, they account for $726 billion, or about 27% of the $2.6 trillion invested in superannuation. This is significantly more than the $630 billion in industry funds (i.e. those run by industry bodies) and the $589 billion invested in retail funds (i.e. those run by financial institutions).

What is the average SMSF balance?

The average account balance of individual SMSF members has been steadily increasing in recent years, as indicated in the first row of the table below. Bearing in mind that the majority of SMSFs in Australia have two members, the average combined balance of SMSF fund members is provided in the second row of the table. These are the latest figures available.

	2013/14	2014/15	2015/16	2016/17
Average individual SMSF member balance	$544,858	$572,509	$587,171	$652,465
Average combined member SMSF balance	$1,031,385	$$1,081,964	$1,107,726	$1,223,460

Source: Australian Taxation Office

ATO figures further reveal that the average assets per member in the establishment year of an SMSF was $203,530 in 2016. This is consistent with the generally held view that the cost of setting up and running an SMSF may be prohibitive for members in funds with lower balances.

The vast majority (82%) of SMSFs in Australia have balances greater than $200,000, as indicated in the table below.

SMSF asset balance	Percentage of total funds
Under $50k	5.6%
$50k – $100k	3.7%
$100k – $200k	8.6%
$200k – $500k	24%
$500k – $1m	24.8%
$1m – $2m	19%
$2m – $5m	11.5%
$5m – $10m	2.3%
More than $10m	0.5%

Source: Australian Taxation Office

How long has the average SMSF been operating?

More than half (53%) of the SMSFs in Australia have been operating for more than ten years, as highlighted in the following table.

Operating time	Percentage of SMSFs
Less than 1 year	4.8%
1-2 years	5.3%
2-3 years	5.5%
3-5 years	11.3%
5-10 years	19.7%
More than 10 years	53.1%

Source: Australian Taxation Office

SMSF member age distribution

Perhaps surprisingly, the age ranges of SMSF members are fairly evenly spread between the ages of 35 and 84, as indicated in the table below, but there is a concentration between the ages of 55 and 69.

Age bracket	Total members (%)
Under 25	0.5%
25-34	3.4%
35-44	11.8%
45-49	10.4%
50-54	11.5%
55-59	13.5%
60-64	13.4%
65-69	13.3%
70-74	11.4%
75-84	9.3%
85+	1.5%

Source: Australian Taxation Office

SMSF trustee structures

According to the most recent statistics from the ATO, approximately 57% of all SMSFs have corporate trustees. This structure is becoming increasingly popular. Since 2015, more than 80% of SMSFs have been set up with corporate trustees. Learn about the difference between corporate and individual trustees.

SMSF phases

According to the ATO, at the end of June 2016 a slight majority of all the SMSFs in Australia (53%) were solely in the accumulation phase (i.e. solely accepting contributions by or on behalf of members), while the remaining 47% of funds were either partially (11%) or fully (36%) in the retirement phase (formerly called the pension phase).

However, the number of funds in the accumulation phase decreased by 4% over the period from 2011 to 2016. This trend is expected to continue (and perhaps escalate further) as a result of Australia’s ageing population.

Learn more about the type of people that have SMSFs.

The bottom line

The number of SMSFs in Australia has continued to rise in recent years, along with average individual member and overall fund balances. The majority of SMSFs have been operating for more than ten years and have corporate trustees, with this structure becoming very popular since 2015. Two-member SMSFs are the most common type. SMSFs are increasingly moving from solely being in the accumulation phase to the retirement/pension phase, reflecting Australia’s ageing population trend.

You should seek independent professional advice based on your individual financial circumstances if you are considering setting up an SMSF. The information contained in this article is general in nature.