Australians’ superannuation to hit $5 trillion. How well is it serving us?

For a population of 28 million, that's an average of $178,571 for every Australian alive (and, of course, much more — or less — for some). Superannuation was positioned as one of "three pillars" of Australia's retirement income system, namely the age pension, superannuation and private non-super savings.

The $5 trillion number is equal to 20 months of our collective annual economic output, a hefty emergency fund on any reckoning.