6503.0 - Household Expenditure Survey and Survey of Income and Housing, User Guide, Australia, 2015-16

ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 10/10/2017

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Introduction Income Wealth or Net worth Housing Summary indicators of income and wealth distribution Expenditure Child care use and cost Superannuation Imputed rent Fiscal Incidence Study Social transfers in kind Deprivation and financial stress indicators Sampling Data collection and processing Weights Reliability of estimates Classifications and standards Historical Information Using the survey + Comparison with Australian Systems of National Accounts (ASNA) About this Release History of Changes	SUPERANNUATION The Survey of Income and Housing (SIH) collects a range of data about superannuation. This allows analysis of both the accumulation and the disbursements of superannuation by households and persons. All superannuation information is collected at the person level. It can therefore be analysed by person or by household characteristics. For analysis of income and wealth accumulation it is usually most relevant to analyse the circumstances of the household. Some information is also collected about the individual superannuation accounts people hold. The Household Expenditure Survey (HES) collects employee expenditure on contributions to superannuation funds or retirement benefit schemes (outside of a salary sacrifice agreement). PERSONAL INCOME Salary sacrifice superannuation arrangements of employees This is a component of employee income and has been available since 2003–04. The relevant person level data item is: Current weekly employee income salary sacrificed for superannuation Superannuation contributions paid to employees by their employer at a level that exceeds the minimum compulsory contributions This is a component of employee income and has been available since 2003–04. The relevant person level data item is: Current weekly benefit from employer provided superannuation (above minimum - non salary sacrifice) From 1 July 2002 to 30 June 2013, the superannuation guarantee rate was 9%, which then rose to 9.25% for the 2013–14 financial year, and then to 9.5% as of 1 July 2014. However some individual workplace agreements or enterprise bargaining agreements provide for employer superannuation contributions that exceed these rates. Respondents may therefore interpret this question in different ways. Regular income from superannuation, annuities or private pensions This is a component of 'Other income' and is available for both current income and previous financial year income. It has been collected in all previous cycles of the SIH and its precursors. The relevant person level data items are: Current weekly income from superannuation/annuity/private pension Previous financial year income from superannuation/annuity/private pension This is the only retirement income from superannuation, annuities and private pensions that contributes to estimates of current and previous financial year household and personal income. Irregular lump sum withdrawals are not included in this measure of income. SUPERANNUATION FUNDS Balance in superannuation funds This is a component of financial assets and has been available since 2003–04 in every SIH except for 2007–08, when wealth data was not collected. The total value of superannuation funds is available split by whether they are government or non-government funds. The relevant person level data items are: Balance of accounts with government superannuation funds Balance of accounts with non-government superannuation funds Respondents were encouraged to refer to their last superannuation statement for fund balances. Superannuation accounts Information is available about the individual superannuation accounts people held for 2013-14 and 2015-16. The complete list of data items for 2015–16 SIH and HES are available from the 'Downloads' tab of this publication as an Excel spreadsheet, and super account items can be found under the 'Superannuation accounts' section on the 'Person' level. The different types of information are: income by type of pension or annuity; total number of superannuation or retirement benefit scheme accounts; number of retirement schemes currently paying regular income by type of pension and their balance; number of retirement schemes currently paying no regular income and their balance; and oldest age will be receiving income from a term annuity. The 'Superannuation' analysis level is available for the 2013–14 and 2015-16 SIH and the 2015-16 HES output to provide similar data about individual superannuation accounts. This data can only be analysed as a paid customised data request. Type of pension or annuity For each superannuation account where current regular income is received, the type of account is collected. The different types of accounts are: Allocated pension - are accounts where a regular pension is paid by a superannuation fund. On death, the balance of these funds can be paid as a lump sum to a designated beneficiary, used to buy a further pension for a surviving spouse or continued as a reversionary pension. This category includes self-managed superannuation funds. Lifetime guaranteed pension - are pensions which are payable for the life of the member, or for the reversionary beneficiary’s life on the death of the member. Payments are made at least annually; they are a fixed amount and generally only varied by indexation. These are also sometimes called lifetime annuities. Term annuity - are fixed-term products that give people a guaranteed income for a specified term. Involves a series of payments purchased with a lump sum, usually from an insurance company. Other account type - includes any other type of pension or annuity e.g. transition to retirement pensions. 'Other account type' descriptions provided by respondents were recoded where possible to the appropriate pension or annuity type. This method was improved for 2015-16 SIH and HES, reducing the overall instances of 'Other account type'. Therefore type of pension or annuity is not directly comparable to 2013-14 SIH estimates. Lump sum superannuation payments *Value of lump sum superannuation payments* The value of lump sum superannuation payments received in the last two years that were in total worth $500 or more, has been collected since 2003–04. It enables analysis of how people are using their superannuation funds other than as a source of regular income. These payments do not contribute to current weekly estimates of personal or household income. The relevant person level data item is: Personal irregular receipts from superannuation payments over last 2 years *Use of lump sum superannuation payments* The uses, and main use, of lump sum superannuation payments (received over the last two years) including re-investment into other assets, debt reduction and consumption expenditure is available in 2013–14 and 2015-16. The complete list of data items for 2015-16 SIH and HES are available from the 'Downloads' tab of this publication as an Excel spreadsheet, and super lump sum items can be found under the 'Superannuation lump sum receipts' section on the 'Person' level. Document Selection These documents will be presented in a new window.