Low levels of non-default decision-making among superannuation members in Australia are assumed to be evidence of a lack of interest and capability. Using member records and survey data from a large Australian superannuation fund, we test the relationship between attitudes towards retirement savings and observable levels of non-default activities (such as making voluntary contributions, choosing or changing investment options and changing insurance cover). Additional retirement savings contributions by permanent staff are more likely if the staff member is very likely to recommend their superannuation fund. Individuals who rate their own personal interest in superannuation affairs as very high are more likely to be active online. This, however, does not extend to choosing a nondefault investment or purchasing additional insurance, where we find no differences between the highly interested and the disengaged. These findings, together with several other differences related to demographics and employment conditions, show that nondefault activity is not a reliable proxy for member engagement.

People who engage with their retirement savings are more likely to opt out of unsuitable defaults. We use cluster analysis of matched survey and administrative data to identify groups of pension plan members that are alike in their attitudes toward retirement saving. We find that engaged and disengaged members segregate into groups based on their interest and trust. Group membership in turn helps predict plan engagement, as proxied by nondefault choices. Specifically, engagement is stronger among interested groups. Trust, however, has a more complex relationship with engagement, particularly as it interacts with interest. While members with low interest and high trust are less likely to engage (e.g., by not checking plan performance), less trusting members engage more (e.g., by actively choosing asset allocations). As interest and trust successfully determine group membership, and ultimately engagement, pension plan providers should address members' diverse needs and circumstances with personalized approaches.

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Australians have contributions made to their super funds whether they like it or not. Members should not have to be interested, financially literate, or investment experts to get the most out of their super funds. If members want to engage and make choices, then the system ought to encourage and facilitate them doing so. If members are not interested, then the system should still work to provide optimal outcomes for them. The super system should work for its members, not vice versa. This is the basis of the Panel's new 'choice architecture.' Super System Review (2010) Final Report-Part One: Overview and Recommendations, p.1.

This study develops a structural dynamic life‐cycle model to examine the behavior of members of an industry‐wide pension fund to assess both the prevalence of defaults and their impact on retirement savings. We estimate the model using the simulated method of moments on administrative data from a large Australian pension fund. Our results show that default settings strongly influence wealth accumulation. Such settings are also highly persistent, both over time and across decisions. Overall, the findings suggest that if defaults (particularly the irreversible ones) are not carefully designed, retirement savings can be severely affected.