Should retirement operators be alarmed or pleased? More Aussies using their super

Many retirement living, rental and land lease community operators pitch themselves at ageing people on an Age Pension. The likes of Ingenia Gardens, Aspen Group and Eureka Group may soon have to rethink their wording. However, with older people having more money, it may also be a godsend. A new report by the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) claims two million Aussies are drawing a regular income from superannuation, with one million largely dependent on super – double the number in 2009-2010. ASFA states that just 40% of Australians in the 66 to 69 age group are currently receiving the Age Pension. In 1997, some 79% of the population over 65 was on the Age or Veterans Pension.

“Superannuation is taking people off the age pension, which is a positive, and it is also lifting their standard of living in retirement,” ASFA deputy chief executive Glen McCrea said.

The total amount of pensions paid by super funds with more than six members rose from $28.4 billion in 2014-15 to $40.4 billion in 2021-22. Another 81,000 people received transition to retirement pensions in 2021-22, and 330,000 Australians were receiving a pension from self-managed super funds, with an average income stream of $47,900.