This year's Conference of Major Superannuation Fund (CMSF) marked 20 years of compulsory superannuation. The conference's main theme, however, was what the next 20 years would hold for the sector and in particular its challenges.
"We need to ensure that this magnificent, extraordinary, profit-for-members financial institution we've created in Australia over the last few decades thrives and grows for its members," Australian Workers' Union national secretary and AustralianSuper trustee Paul Howes said in his opening address at the Brisbane event.
However, while the industry speaks about its dedication to members, more and more research consistently indicates members remain un-engaged and at unease with their super.
One conference session presented a snap poll of people in their 40s and a group who had not yet reached 20 years of age.
For those in their 40s, retirement planning was underway, albeit with a degree of scepticism.
"I have no idea about retiring. The rules just keep changing. Every new government has a new opinion and changes the rules," one 40-plus gentleman said.
Another 40-plus person reckoned his fund did not seem to deliver the big returns of other funds during an economic boom, but in a downturn his fund "seemed to take the full hit".
For those who had yet to reach 20, the immediate financial future was slightly more optimistic, filled with material dreams such as private islands and helicopters.
Teenager Lewis Yeatman, however, just wanted the life lived by Seinfeld character Kramer.
"I'd just like to be like Kramer. He knows nothing but seems to live the good life," Yeatman said.
To effectively overcome feelings of panic or simply apathy, ipac founding director Arun Abey said funds needed to understand how people thought.
Quoting behavioural finance theory, the former academic said appealing to intuitive thinking was far more effective than cognitive thought.
Therefore, funds must base their messages on images rather than figures.
Choosing between an image of a well-heeled apartment and a derelict home in London spurred 14.5 per cent of people in the United Kingdom to contribute more to their retirement plan.
This image was compared with a table of figures outlining how voluntary contributions made a difference to retirement savings. The table only spurred 11 per cent of people to up their voluntary contributions.
Abey said funds needed to get creative and not hide behind the excuse of compliance if true engagement was to be fulfilled.
The industry is in the grip of several government reviews. With further changes expected, for many people this will only mean greater anxiety in superannuation.
"The next 20 years will see us measured not just through the single lens of investment returns, but in the social role we can play to improve our members' lives and the society in which we all live," Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees chief Fiona Reynolds said in her CMSF opening address.
There is an expectation super funds will play an even more powerful role in Australia's economic and social future. But the industry must take its members with them if they are to truly fulfil this role.
