The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (Apra) revealed that superannuation funds suffered badly from market volatility in March 2020, when total assets were recorded at A$2.7trn (£1.4trn, $1.8trn, €1.6trn).
It showed there had been decreases in superannuation assets (-0.3%) and self-managed super fund assets (-4.1%), compared with March 2019.
Apra said: “Over the March 2020 quarter, there was a decrease of 7.7% in total superannuation assets, comprising a decrease of 7.4% in Apra-regulated assets, a decrease of 6.5% in exempt public sector superannuation schemes assets, and a decrease of 9.4% in self-managed super fund assets.”
| March 2019 | March 2020 | Change | |
| Total superannuation assets | A$2,738.8bn | A$2,731.4bn | -0.3% |
| Total APRA-regulated assets | A$1,836.1bn | A$1,856.6bn | +1.1% |
| -> Of which: total assets in MySuper products | A$713.0bn | A$709.9bn | -0.4% |
| Total self-managed super fund assets | A$704.2bn | A$675.6bn | -4.1% |
| Exempt public sector superannuation schemes assets | A$144.0bn | A$142.5bn | -1.0% |
| Balance of life office statutory fund assets | A$54.4bn | $A56.6bn | +4.0% |
Source: Apra
Still topping up
But according to the prudential regulator, contributions into superannuation accounts have soared during the period.
This is despite reports stating that as many as 50,000 Australians had drained their super accounts to cope with lockdown and the pandemic.
Apra revealed that total contributions increased by 6.9% compared to March last year, and so did total benefit payments (14.5%) and net contribution flows (27.7%).
| March 2019 | March 2020 | Change | |
| Total contributions | A$113.2bn | A$121.1bn | +6.9% |
| Total benefit payments | A$75.0bn | A$85.8bn | +14.5% |
| Net contribution flows | A$35.6bn |
A$45.4bn | +27.7% |
Source: Apra
