Rich or Poor in Retirement? A Small Area Analysis of Australian Private Superannuation Savings in 2006 using Spatial Microsimulation

Rich or poor in retirement? A small area analysis of Australian private superannuation savings in 2006 using spatial microsimulation, Regional Studies. Substantial differences in retirement savings exist among Australians. Little is known, however, about how these patterns play out at a small area level, partly due to an absence of available data about wealth holdings at a small area level. This paper uses spatial microsimulation techniques to produce estimates of superannuation savings for Australian men and women who in 2006 were aged between forty-five and sixty years at a Statistical Local Area (SLA) level. The findings show substantial differences between Australia's small areas in terms of both superannuation ownership and median balances