Aussie-style retirement savings program coming to the US?
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How superannuation works
Superannuation, or “super” for short, is Australia’s flagship retirement savings program.
Employers are required to fund employees’ savings accounts, which are invested in select funds — known as super funds — that are locked up until retirement. The employer-funded contributions are made on top of paying employees their regular income. Employees can also contribute to their own savings account.
Employers must contribute the equivalent of 12% of an employee’s income into these super funds — a gradual increase from 3% when the modern superannuation program was established in 1992.
“There is no opt out,” Tim Jenkins, partner at consulting firm Mercer, told CNN. “If you are employed, your employer must pay 12% of your pay to your retirement savings, and it’s locked up until you’re approaching retirement age with a few ways to access on the way, but very limited indeed.”
Australia’s super funds are the fourth-largest retirement savings pool in the world despite the country’s ranking as the 55th largest country by population size, according to JPMorgan Chase.
The total superannuation investment pool has roughly 4.5 trillion Australian dollars in assets (roughly $3 trillion).
Employees can choose from different super funds. The funds are managed by professional investors such as financial institutions, regulated by the government and are invested across a variety of global assets from stocks to private equity.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/03/economy/superannuation-australia-retirement-trump
