ATO – Tax Office SMSF Statistics

The ATO releases statistics on SMSF’s, and this page is divided into 3 sections:

PURPOSE OF STATISTICS    

As part of the Super System Review (the Review), A Statistical Summary of Self Managed Superannuation Funds was released on 12 December 2009. The majority of the Self Managed Superannuation Funds (SMSFs) information in that paper was sourced from both publicly available and previously unpublished ATO data.

In December 2011 the ATO released a publication Self-managed superannuation funds A statistical overview 2008-09 (the overview), which was broadly in line with the Super System Review statistical summary using 2008-09 data.

This publication follows on from the overview using 2009-10 data. The ATO proposes to provide annual overviews.

Where appropriate, the ATO refers to Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) data for comparisons to the SMSF sector.

The ATO began regulating SMSFs in the 2000 financial year under the regulatory framework of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (SIS Act).

Traditionally, SMSF data was collected on the super fund income tax return. From 2008, a new SMSF annual return (SAR) was developed to enhance the regulation of SMSFs and enable the collection of more reliable data.

Generally the data for this overview has been collected from:

•           SAR

•           SMSF registrations

•           Auditor Contravention Reports (ACRs) lodged by approved auditors.

POPULAR STATISTICS

Growth – In the five years to 30 June 2011, SMSFs have been the fastest growing sector of the Australian super industry. SMSF numbers grew by 31%. During this period, total super assets grew by 45%, while SMSF assets grew by 89%.The SMSF sector contributed the largest proportion with 47% of the total 45% growth in super assets.

Investments – There was a positive shift to listed shares and to a lesser extent other managed investments. This corresponds with a shift away from cash and term deposits, other assets and to a small extent non-residential property and the continued shift away from listed trusts.

Members’ income

• The average taxable income of all SMSF members in the year ended 30 June 2010 was almost $91,000.
• Members 35 to 59 years old had the highest average taxable income of more than $103,000.
• SMSF trustees 35 to 49 years old had the most significant difference in average taxable income, earning approximately $114,000 compared to non-SMSF members earning below $61,000.

Members’ balances

• The average SMSF member balance was almost $467,000.
• The average SMSF member balance ranged from $52,600 for members less than 35 years old to almost $773,000 for members more than 65 years old.

Rollovers

• During the five years to 30 June 2010, the $59.7 billion rolled into SMSFs consistently exceeded the $17.2 billion rolled out of SMSFs.
• The overall net inflow into SMSFs was $146.1 billion during the five years to 30 June 2010.

Importance of super and tax professionals to help trustees comply

Tax agents and accountants also play a significant role in the SMSF sector. As at June 2011, SMSFs were serviced by around 14,600 different tax agents or accountants. Approximately 81% of SMSFs are registered with a tax agent; however, nearly all SMSF annual returns (98%) were lodged through a tax agent.

The ATO expect’s to release a statistical overview based on the 2011 data in November 2012

ATO LINK

To see the ATO statistics see the <ATO Link>