Australia’s major super funds have revealed a surge in members making extra contributions as the government’s negative gearing and capital gains tax overhaul pushes more people to the tax-effective retirement structure.
AustralianSuper, the country’s biggest super fund, saw voluntary contributions increase 35 per cent in June compared to the previous year, with the spike continuing through July and August.
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MLC reported additional contributions increasing by 35 per cent between May and August this year, compared to the same period last year. The surge is understood to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Leading financial adviser Alex Jamieson told news.com.au he was having similar conversations with clients on the back of changes announced in the budget.
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“It does open that conversation up around super, [which] was largely unaffected by the budget changes in terms of capital gains tax,” he said.
“To some degree it is a tax incentivised savings scheme. If we’re thinking about the arithmetic on the capital gains, you keep 90, the government takes 10 on a realised gain after 12 months. It’s very attractive.
“And then also the lower tax rate of 15 per cent on accumulation balances, compared to 30 per cent does really open up a lot of people to start thinking, do I revisit the strategy around what I’m doing?”
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AustralianSuper chief member officer Rose Kerlin said the super fund had seen a “significant increase in voluntary contributions since May”, with the majority of voluntary contributions coming from those aged 50 to 66.
Voluntary contributions typically spike ahead of June 30 every year as people look to claim tax benefits, but this year’s increases have been above the usual increase.
“Members are increasingly recognising super as a tax-effective opportunity, and that their retirement savings can benefit from the power of compound interest over the long term,” Ms Kerlin said.
MLC chief customer officer Renee Howie said it was understandable people were paying closer attention to their finances given current uncertainty.
The recent increase is part of a broader trend, with MLC seeing a 79 per cent rise in contributions since 2024.
“At MLC, we’re hearing from members who are paying closer attention to their super and asking more questions about how recent policy changes may affect them,” she said.
“Moments like this often prompt people to check in on their super and consider whether there are steps they can take to improve their long-term financial confidence.”
Colonial First State has also reported seeing an uplift in voluntary contributions since May, along with Aware Super and AMP.
Mr Jamieson said he was seeing Aussies aged 50 and older who are closer to retirement and first-home buyers using the First Home Super Saver Scheme adding more to their superannuation.
“It would be crazy not to consider it, to be honest,” Mr Jamieson said of the First Homer Super saver scheme.
MLC research found Aussies earning $105,000 who put 1 per cent of their salary – or just over $20 a week – into super could be more than $70,000 better off at retirement.
Investors reconsidering property
Along with superannuation, Mr Jamieson said the budget changes had made people’s principal place of residence more attractive as well.
Your main residence is exempt from capital gains tax, which means some may be incentivised to undertake renovations or improvements to their property.
“Under the current property market with low clearance rates and most of the eastern states experiencing declines in values and projections that may play out a little further, it does change the conversation a little bit around if that investment property opportunity is more limited to focus on your primary residence and get that tax benefit,” Mr Jamieson said.
New lending to property investors dropped 8.6 per cent in the three months to June, the latest ABS data showed, while the number of total new home loans fell by 5.4 per cent.
Under the tax changes, negative gearing will be restricted to newly built investment properties from July 2027.
The 50 per cent capital gains tax discount will be replaced with an inflation-adjusted model, with a 30 per cent minimum tax rate.
Australia’s $4.8 trillion superannuation pot was left largely untouched in the federal budget, except for changes to SMSF lending.
Since August 10, SMSFs are banned from borrowing to invest in residential property following a last-minute deal with Labor and the Greens.
The latest APRA data showed total super assets increased by 6.6 per cent over the quarter to reach $4.8 trillion as at June 30.
Total super contributions rose 12.8 per cent to $236.3 billion year on year, with employer contributions up 9.5 per cent to $164.4 billion and member contributions up 21 per cent to $71.9 billion.