The voluntary member contributions figure of $3.8 billion accounted for almost one fifth of total contributions. It also represented a $690 million or 22 per cent increase in voluntary flows compared to the March 2012 quarter, FSC chief economist James Bond wrote in his Bond Report.
“The very strong growth in discretionary contributions off the back of good growth in December indicates a strong consumer response to the strong growth in equities markets and positive reports of returns to superannuation funds,” Mr Bond said.
However, employer flows declined by around 0.2 per cent, or $40 million, which although small, is a concern given it is the second time in the past three quarters employer flows have declined, he wrote.
This is also at odds with the positive voluntary flows and employment growth seen during the quarter.
“While the decline in employer contributions is small, given the rarity of such declines, the fact that this is the second decline in three quarters and the significance of compulsory contributions to total flows means this result is a concern,” he said.
In seasonally adjusted terms, total contributions rose by $15 million or 0.1 per cent between the December and March quarters, indicating growth in contributions was moderate in March, he added.
Compared with the 12 months to March 2012, there was a year-on-year increase in total contributions of $3.3 billion, up to $87.6 billion. This does not include the one-off $4.6 billion contribution made by the New South Wales government “towards the state’s unfunded public superannuation liability,” Mr Bond said.
In seasonally adjusted terms, smoothing out the annual June peaks and September lows, March 2013 was the best quarter for discretionary contributions in the past three years.
