Australia has one of the most admired retirement savings systems in the world. And millions of us are barely using it.
Superannuation was designed to build wealth at scale. For most people, though, it just happens in the background while they get on with life. Most Australians couldn't tell you their balance. Fewer still know what investment option they're in. Many have never made a single voluntary contribution.
It's a missed opportunity and a very large one.
Something is shifting, though. The Australian Financial Review reported that 33,224 net new self-managed super funds were established in 2024–25. And it's not just older, wealthier savers. People under45 accounted for half of all net new SMSFs over the past five years, despite making up only around 15 per cent of existing trustees.
Ask why, and one word keeps coming up: control. Research by CoreData found that younger trustees want agency over their retirement savings. Some are chasing assets that most large funds don't offer, including cryptocurrency. Wanting control of your super is a healthy instinct. It means you're finally paying attention. But control comes with responsibility, and there's far more to running your own fund than choosing what it invests in. Before you make the move, there are some things you really need to consider.
Here's the part that rarely makes it into the conversation.
If you're in a large super fund and you suffer a loss through fraud, theft or poor conduct,you have somewhere to go. The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) offers free dispute resolution. Behind it sits the Compensation Scheme of LastResort (CSLR), which can pay out when a firm cannot.
With an SMSF, your compensation rights are limited, but they are not zero. If the fund received wrongful personal financial advice from an AFCA-member adviser, you can still pursue a complaint through AFCA, and the CSLR may pay if the firm cannot. Outside that advice-based pathway, SMSFs generally do not have access to the broader compensation protections available to many large super funds.
An SMSF investing without advice, in products outside that system, is largely on its own.
Notice the irony. The people most drawn to doing it all themselves are often the ones giving up the most protection. Treasury is now debating whether SMSFs should have to opt in to the last-resort scheme at all. The rules may change. The principle won't: the further you step outside the regulated system, the thinner the safety net gets.
In my work with clients, I see both extremes.
The disengaged majority leave real wealth on the table. An investment option they've never examined. Contributions left at the default when adding more would clearly serve them. Insurance inside super that no longer matches their life. Over a thirty-year working life, small inattentions compound just as surely as returns do.
The DIY minority sometimes have the opposite problem: all attention, no support. Running an SMSF is real work. The investment strategy, compliance, administration and legal responsibility all sit with you and there are fewer places to turn if something goes wrong.
The good news is that this was never a choice between apathy and isolation. Engagement can be simple. Treat contributions as deliberate decisions rather than defaults. And whether the right structure for you is a large fund, an SMSF or a combination that depends entirely on your circumstances, which is exactly why it's worth talking through with someone qualified.
If you haven't looked at your super this year, now's the time. Our team provides superannuation advice in Sydney, alongside wealth management and self-managed super fund advice for those weighing up whether an SMSF makes sense.