Review of 2021 Census Topics

Superannuation status

Superannuation data is needed to support policy development, for example so that Treasury can make more accurate forecasts of tax revenue.
Superannuation data, when combined with income data, can be used for research purposes.
Superannuation data can be used to identify particular industries, geographical areas, or ethnic groups with poor take-up of superannuation warranting further investigation.

The value of the superannuation data is enhanced when compared with other characteristics, such as age and sex.

Those respondents who do have superannuation could be asked what kind of superannuation fund(s) they had and what phase the super fund was in (e.g. contributing, preserved, pension, or reversionary pension).

I believe that the topic of superannuation would be acceptable to most respondents.

Most people will have only one or two superannuation funds. Some elderly people will have no superannuation at all, so they will not find it difficult to answer the question. It would need only two questions: "what super fund(s) do you belong to", and, for each fund, "what is the status of that fund".

It would be useful to be able to track the uptake of superannuation as time goes on. It would also be useful to be able to identify changes in the type of superannuation that people have - over time the defined benefit schemes will disappear and it is possible that new forms of superannuation or annuity schemes might appear.

The Australian Taxation Office does have data about superannuation status of Australia-based superannuation funds, but would have limited data about foreign-based superannuation schemes that some Australian residents might belong to, as a result of previous employment overseas. To obtain income data about all those who had a particular type of superannuation, e.g. a self-managed superannuation fund, would require an extensive and probably error-prone data matching exercise. It would be easier and cheaper to collect the data through the Census.

In addition, if data about the total income of retired Commonwealth public servants were available, it would be possible to obtain a better estimate of the likely cost of providing better indexation of their pensions (currently indexed by the CPI). Recently, the head of the Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation, Peter Carigy-Ryan, admitted that that it was "virtually impossible to assess Commonwealth defined benefit pensioners' income". No doubt other superannuation schemes would like to know more about their customers.

I am a retired public servant who worked in the ABS for over thirty years. After I retired, I have been a member of the Superannuated Commonwealth Officer's Association and have only recently retired as its president.

Up to now, the Census has concentrated on getting data about the working age population. With the ongoing ageing of the population, there will be a greater need for data about older people, such as access to superannuation and access to other pensions.