The central reasons for Australia’s high rating include increases in the superannuation guarantee and the age pension.

“Quite clearly, SMSFs, as the best performing, most efficient, largest and fastest growing part of the superannuation sector, can take their share of credit for Australia’s performance,” said SPAA’s managing director and chief executive officer Andrea Slattery.

“In particular, the fact that each SMSF, on average, holds about $1 million in funds under administration, would have been a strong contributing factor for the Australian system being rated the highest in terms of adequacy.

“Considering one in every 15 working Australians is an SMSF trustee or member, and this number is growing by about 3,000 a month, and SMSFs represent $1 out of every $3 invested in superannuation, the health of our sector augurs well for Australia’s future ratings on the Mercer Index.”