At 30 June 2016, 83% of SMSF members were aged 45 years or older (see Appendix 1, table 10). The average and median member age was 58 years and 59 years respectively.
There were generally younger members in more recently established funds. Of SMSFs established in 2015, 71% of members were under 55 years old, compared to 68% of members of SMSFs established in 2014 and 50% of members of SMSFs established in 2011.
Likewise, the average age of members of newly established funds over the five years declined from approximately 54 years to 48 years, and the median age declined from 55 years to 49 years.
There has been a continued trend of an increase in the proportion of members between the ages of 25 to 34 and 35 to 44 in newly established funds over the five years.
Graph 5 shows the proportion of SMSF members by age in the fund’s year of establishment over the five years to 2015, compared to the whole SMSF population at 30 June 2016. There are a greater proportion of SMSF members between the ages of 25 years to 54 years in more recent established funds compared to all members in the total SMSF population. This is particularly evident in the 35–44 year age range.
Graph 5: Proportion of SMSF members by age range 2011–2015
Graph 6 shows that at 30 June 2015, 80% of SMSF members were between 35 and 69 years, while 80% of non-SMSF members were under 55 years.
While only 7% of non-SMSF members were over 65 years old, 29% of SMSF members were in this age range. Conversely, 5% of SMSF members and 36% of non-SMSF members were under 35 years (see Appendix 1, table 11).
Graph 6: Age distribution of SMSF members and non-SMSF members as at June 2015