Only six super funds are ‘retirement ready’. Is yours one of them?

3 days ago 4

I talk to countless people about retirement. Retirees tell me about the pain points they faced as they navigated it in the hope I can make things easier. Pre-retirees share the stress of not knowing whether their fund is really ready and able to help them.

They both tell me stories of waiting days or even weeks with some funds just to open a retirement account, of sitting on hold for far too long to ask simple questions, and of struggling to navigate the advice on offer.

You might be ready for retirement, but is your super fund?

On the other side, I speak regularly to many funds themselves. Some are proud to show off their latest projects, tools and wins. Others quietly admit that retirement hasn’t been their top priority, with other challenges and initiatives taking centre stage.

Meanwhile, the regulator has been banging the table for five years now, telling funds they need to get ready for the enormous wave of retirees to come – and even they seem frustrated that progress has been so slow.

That’s the gap. Only a few months ago, the regulator finally set out a list of what funds should be doing for their members in retirement – but then announced they wouldn’t conduct their first evaluation until 2028.

By then, more than half the Boomer population wave will already be retired. The window of greatest need among our ageing population will have passed. Not good enough.

It’s time to lift the standard and deliver the support Australians need to retire with confidence.

And so, Australians are left in the middle. Their funds tell them they’re “retirement ready,” regulators say they’ll check later, and meanwhile people are left to hope for the best. When it comes to something as important as retirement, hope isn’t enough. We need more truth in the mix.

So I set out to change that, enlisting the technical expertise of one of Australia’s most trusted super fund research, data and analytics companies, Chant West. Together, we assessed every fund in Australia and created the Epic Retirement Tick – powered by Chant West.

Not as another industry award or marketing badge, but as a clear, well-researched benchmark of what “good” really looks like in retirement services from your super fund. It’s a set of criteria, a detailed report and a badge that everyday Australians can use to judge their fund – and that funds can use to demonstrate they’re serious about delivering for their members in retirement.

Instead of promises in glossy ads, the Tick is built on evidence, measuring funds against 18 transparently shared and quite detailed criteria that we believe genuinely matter as you move into retirement: long-term performance, fees under the median, different types of retirement-relevant financial advice, retirement income options, drawdown solutions, digital tools, calculators, retirement education, service standards and more.

Aware Super is one of the few funds to be given the Tick.

In the first year we didn’t want to have too high a bar – so we assessed funds against their ability to meet any 12 of the 18 criteria. Only six exceeded the benchmark. That says a lot about the state of retirement readiness in our system today.

I’m delighted to share the funds awarded the Tick for 2025/26 are: Australian Retirement Trust Super Savings, Aware Super, Brighter Super, Hostplus, TelstraSuper and UniSuper. Congratulations.

We’ve published a detailed report on the six funds that passed, outlining the criteria in detail and explaining how members can use it. For the rest, it’s up to members to run their own assessment.

That’s deliberate – the aim isn’t to shame funds by hanging out their dirty laundry, at least not yet. It’s to lift the bar by putting pressure where it counts: from everyday Australians who now have a checklist in hand and the confidence to ask tougher questions.

When members start holding funds to account on their retirement services, two things happen: funds feel the heat to improve or risk losing members, and people get the better support they deserve as they step into retirement.

Some funds have already responded positively, outlining to their members the projects under way and how they plan to earn the Tick soon. Others have been less forthcoming. But all were assessed, and the message is clear: it’s time to act.

It’s time to lift the standard and deliver the support Australians need to retire with confidence.

And we’ve promised to do our bit too. If a fund reaches 12 out of 18 criteria during the year, they won’t have to wait until next October to be reassessed. We’ll proudly add them to the list of funds with a Tick beside their name. That way, progress is recognised quickly, members benefit sooner, and momentum builds across the system.

Because at the end of the day, we just want more for everyday Australians approaching retirement – the support and services they deserve, many of which are basic and should already be standard.

1. Use the report to guide you. Download the report, look at the 18 criteria, and use them as your checklist. You may not need everything on the list, but you’ll quickly see which services matter most for your journey. If your fund isn’t one of the six, this is your chance to hold them up against the standard

2. Ask your fund the hard questions. If your fund didn’t get the Tick – and most didn’t – don’t just shrug. Pick up the phone or email them. Ask three simple but powerful questions:

How will you help me navigate retirement in the months and years ahead?
What retirement initiatives are a priority for you right now?
When will they be live and ready for me to use? (And decide if their time frame is soon enough for your retirement to benefit.)

3. Make the most of what’s already there. Some funds are already doing impressive things – from tools and calculators to new income products – but many members don’t use them because super doesn’t feel “exciting”.

Don’t let that stop you. Super, when you retire, will suddenly become bloody exciting – trust me! Engaging with these services before you stop work can make a big difference to both your wealth and your confidence when the time comes.

Whatever you do, remember this: no one will plan your retirement for you – only you can make it epic.

Bec Wilson is the author of the bestseller How to Have an Epic Retirement and the newly released Prime Time: 27 Lessons for the New Midlife. She writes a weekly newsletter at epicretirement.net and hosts the Prime Time podcast.

Advice given in this article is general in nature and is not intended to influence readers’ decisions about investing or financial products. They should always seek their own professional advice that considers their own personal circumstances before making financial decisions.

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