Considering that the newly announced Budget will reward “self-funded retirees”, many Australians have little or no idea about what their superannuation actually does.

The latest Investment Sentiment Index compiled by Challenger International shows that up to half of the population does not know where, or how much, their superannuation contributions are. And of those that do know, over 40% are unaware of who their super provider is.

A huge 46% of respondents said that they didn’t get a choice of super fund and an alarming 56% of women don’t know what percentage of their salary is set aside as guaranteed super.

Challenger chief John Barry said about 10% of public earnings is invested in superannuation. “It seems remarkable that so many people have so little knowledge of where and how their money is being invested”.