Super fund satisfaction drops to 66.6% in February 2023 – down 5.4% points from record high in January 2022
New data from Roy Morgan’s Superannuation Satisfaction Report shows an overall super fund satisfaction rating of 66.6% in February 2023 – a decrease of 5.4% points from the record high reached just over a year ago in January 2022 (72.0%).
Despite the decrease over the last year superannuation satisfaction is still higher than the long-term average of 57.9% from 2007-2023 and also higher than at any time prior to the pandemic years of 2021-22 when the measure was at record highs. However, superannuation satisfaction is now at its lowest since December 2020 (64.8%).
The high satisfaction ratings during the last two years are no surprise with the ASX200 peaking at 7,628.9 on August 13, 2021, and again, almost as high, at 7,592.8 on April 21, 2022. The index closed at 7,258.4 at the end of February 2023, down over 330 points (-4.4%) since the high reached in April 2022.
The period covered by these ratings is from September 2022 – February 2023 which included five interest rates increases totaling +1.5% lifting official interest rates to 3.35% - the highest in over a decade. The increases have been caused by the higher than expected inflation readings which were at a 32-year high of 7.8% in the year to December 2022 – the highest since March 1990.
The Superannuation Satisfaction Report, with data up to February 2023, shows Unisuper and HESTA with the highest customer satisfaction ratings of any of the Industry Funds ahead of AustralianSuper, HOSTPLUS, Australian Retirement Trust, REST Super, Cbus, Catholic Super and CARE Super.
The highest placed Retail Super Fund is Macquarie followed by MLC, OnePath, Colonial First State, Suncorp, Mercer and AMP.
Satisfaction with superannuation funds: 2007-2023
Source: Roy Morgan Single Source Australia, April 2007 – February 2023, n=16,363 for every six month period. Base: Australians 14+ with work based or personal superannuation.
Satisfaction with financial performance of different type of super funds
Source: Roy Morgan Single Source Australia, August 2021 – January 2022, n=20,366, September 2022 – February 2023, n=22,455. Base: Australians 14+ with work based or personal superannuation.
Customer satisfaction for Public Sector Funds in February is down by 5.7% points to 73.4% from a year ago in January 2022 and down 5.3% points to 74.7% for Self-Managed Funds – although this is still the highest customer satisfaction of any of the four super fund categories.
Overall customer satisfaction for Industry Funds has declined by 6.3% points from a year ago in January 2022 to 67.9% - the largest decline for any of the super fund categories.
The customer satisfaction of Retail Funds has declined by 5.6% points from a year ago in January 2022 to 61.3%. However, there is one Retail Fund which managed to buck the overall trend with Macquarie’s customer satisfaction up 3.5% points from a year ago in January 2022.
The report’s findings are from Roy Morgan Single Source, Australia’s most trusted consumer survey, compiled by in-depth interviews with over 60,000 Australians each year.
Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says customer satisfaction with superannuation funds is down from six months ago but remains near the record highs reached during the last two years:
“Roy Morgan’s superannuation customer satisfaction ratings for the six months to February 2023 show industry satisfaction at 66.6%, down 5.4% points from the record high of 72% reached in the six months to January 2022. Despite the fall, customer satisfaction remains well above long-term average of 57.9% and higher than at any point prior to 2021.
“The drop in customer satisfaction from a year ago has occurred as the ASX200 experienced a period of volatility since mid-2021. The ASX200 reached a high of 7,628.9 on August 13, 2021, and fell by almost 1,200 points when the index closed at 6,433.4 on June 20, 2022. Since the middle of last year, the ASX200 has significantly recovered and closed at 7,258.4 at the end of February.
“There have been declines across all categories from the record highs reached just over a year ago. Retail Funds are down 5.6% points to 61.3% and are the lowest rated category, while Industry Funds dropped 6.3% points to 67.9% – the largest drop of any of the four types of super.
“Although both have experienced a drop in satisfaction compared to early last year Self-Managed Funds on 74.7% (down 5.3% points) and Public Sector Funds on 73.4% (down 5.7% points) remain the two sectors with clearly the highest satisfaction – well above the overall average.
“The Industry Funds with the highest customer satisfaction in February 2023 include Unisuper, HESTA AustralianSuper and HOSTPLUS while the most impressive Retail Fund is Macquarie, which increased its customer satisfaction by 3.9% points despite the broader down-trends..
“Over recent years, as well as dealing with a volatile share-market, many superannuation funds have merged or announced their intention to merge. These mergers include Unisuper taking over Australian Catholic Super, HESTA merging with Mercy Super, Active Super merging with Vision Super, HOSTPLUS merging with Statewide and many other mergers.
“Roy Morgan has extensive data on the impacts of these mergers on the customer satisfaction of the super funds involved in the mergers and acquisitions. One of the key messages coming through from these mergers is the importance of communication and a smooth transition process for members throughout.
“As the industry continues to consolidate in the years ahead, we are set to see more such mergers and acquisitions as the larger players look to increase the amount of assets they have under management in an increasingly competitive industry. The premium on maintaining a high degree of customer satisfaction and providing better investment returns will only increase.
“Looking forward the market faces a challenging environment with inflation at a 32-year high of 7.8% in the year to December 2022 while the RBA has increased official interest rates by 3.5% points in under a year to 3.6% – the highest for over a decade since mid-2012.
“As well as high inflation and interest rates there is also emerging instability within the US and European financial industries in recent weeks following the sudden bankruptcies of two mid-sized US banks – Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank – and the bailout of giant Swiss bank Credit Suisse.”
For comments or more information about Roy Morgan’s superannuation data please contact:
Roy Morgan Enquiries
Office: +61 (3) 9224 5309
askroymorgan@roymorgan.com
Margin of Error
The margin of error to be allowed for in any estimate depends mainly on the number of interviews on which it is based. Margin of error gives indications of the likely range within which estimates would be 95% likely to fall, expressed as the number of percentage points above or below the actual estimate. Allowance for design effects (such as stratification and weighting) should be made as appropriate.
| Sample Size | Percentage Estimate |
| 40% – 60% | 25% or 75% | 10% or 90% | 5% or 95% | |
| 1,000 | ±3.0 | ±2.7 | ±1.9 | ±1.3 |
| 5,000 | ±1.4 | ±1.2 | ±0.8 | ±0.6 |
| 7,500 | ±1.1 | ±1.0 | ±0.7 | ±0.5 |
| 10,000 | ±1.0 | ±0.9 | ±0.6 | ±0.4 |
| 20,000 | ±0.7 | ±0.6 | ±0.4 | ±0.3 |
| 50,000 | ±0.4 | ±0.4 | ±0.3 | ±0.2 |
