Super funds just delivered another stellar year. Is yours one of the best?

July 18, 2026 — 5:01am

If you had a growth option sitting inside your super fund over the past four years, you’re probably pretty pleased with yourself right now. The annual performance results are coming in for growth superannuation funds in both the accumulation and pension phase for 2025-26, and it’s clear that many of our super funds have had another stellar year.

It’s the fourth in a row, and it’s been driven chiefly by international shares, particularly for those funds with solid currency hedging along the way.

The data, reported by superannuation research firm Chant West, shows that the median one-year returns from growth funds (which they classify as funds with 61 per cent to 80 per cent invested in growth assets) is 9.5 per cent for FY26 for funds in the accumulation phase and 10.8 per cent for funds in pension phase.

The gap between the returns in accumulation and retirement or pension phase isn’t a fluke. Pension fund performance is higher because superannuation in the retirement phase is tax-free. It’s one of the most generous perks in the retirement system, and yet many Australians over 60 and eligible haven’t got around to switching their account over to take advantage of it.

So who came out on top in 2025-26? The top-performing growth fund for the last year was Unisuper, across both accumulation and pension. It delivered a 12.3 per cent return on the accumulation fund, and 13.1 per cent returns on the pension fund.

They are followed closely by a tie for second spot, between NGS Super Diversified, and CFS Firstchoice Growth Fund, both with 11.5 per cent returns on accumulation and 12.4 per cent on pension.

And in third spot in accumulation funds was the Hostplus Balanced Fund, with 10.8 per cent returns in accumulation. At third spot in the retirement phase was AMP Balanced fund, with 11.9 per cent returns.

Zoom out a little further and the numbers get even more impressive. Growth funds in Australia in the accumulation phase have provided median returns of 44 per cent on a cumulative basis over the past four years, giving some of the most consistent returns in superannuation’s history.

The big question is, can they continue, and should retirees relying on these returns be planning for them to continue at such extraordinary levels?

The honest answer is that one-year returns were never designed to plan around. What a fund is really here to do is to provide strong performance over the long haul. I prefer to look at the 10-year returns on growth funds for those signals.

It’s crucial that those relying on returns don’t get cocky, and instead think about the long-term expectations for their superannuation.

And this year, the best performing growth funds in the accumulation phase, over the past 10 years are Hostplus Balanced Fund with 8.9 per cent return, Brighter Super with 8.8 per cent return and Australian Retirement Trust with 8.7 per cent return.

And in the retirement phase, it’s Hostplus with 10.1 per cent returns, CSC Aggressive with 9.9 per cent returns and Brighter Super Balanced Fund with a 9.8 per cent return.

But there’s also an important lesson in this year’s returns. Four years in a row with returns above 9 per cent has been seen just one other time in the history of superannuation. In 2004-07 and afterwards, we saw not one but two negative years.

So it’s crucial that those relying on returns don’t get cocky, and instead think about the long-term expectations for their superannuation in perspective.

Chant West Head of Super Investment Mano Mohankumar says that while super funds have delivered four straight years of returns of 9 per cent or more, he says that the level of return shouldn’t be thought of as normal.

The typical long-term return objective for growth funds is to beat inflation by 3.5 per cent per year, which translates to roughly 6 per cent a year on an average year. Since the introduction of compulsory super, the annualised return is 8 per cent and the annual CPI increase is 2.7 per cent, giving a real return of 5.3 per cent a year, well above that 3.5 per cent target.

Even looking at the past 20 years, which includes three major share market downturns – the GFC in 2007-09, COVID-19 in 2020 and the high inflation and rising interest rates in 2022 – super funds have returned 6.9 per cent a year, which is still comfortably ahead of the typical fund investment objective.

So when you write your plans, I want you to keep that in mind. The objective of your super fund should be anchored to that baseline of inflation, which was at 4 per cent in May, 2026, plus 3.5 per cent, so currently the expectation might be around 7.5 per cent.

But inflation won’t keep running this hot forever. And when it eventually falls back towards the RBA target of 2 per cent to 2.5 per cent, super might be expected to return closer to 6 per cent.

Don’t believe me? I looked around for some second opinions on where returns go from here, particularly if the world stops delivering near double-figure results. I looked at what the big global investment houses are forecasting, and they don’t agree with each other at all.

Vanguard reckons US shares, which make up a big slice of most growth options, will manage just 4 to 5 per cent a year over the next five to 10 years, on the view that tech valuations have run ahead of themselves. J.P. Morgan, looking at the same market, forecasts 6.7 per cent over 10 to 15 years, arguing strong earnings and buybacks can keep offsetting high prices.

Two of the best resourced research teams in the world, using the same data, can’t agree, but they certainly agree that it doesn’t look like double-digit returns ahead. That’s precisely why I’d rather you plan around a strategy than a prediction.

Retirees, it’s time to set up some guardrails

We’re all reading pieces like this because we love to feel clever for investing our super well. But a far smarter approach is to use these numbers each year as the driver for an annual superannuation check-in and to set up guardrails that will guide what you do in the next year.

First, I want you to plan your retirement using the real expectations of super, of inflation plus 3.5 per cent and then use guardrails when the annual returns come in to reset your spending every year, rather than anchoring your plan to whatever the sexiest headline returns numbers are.

Guardrails are simply trigger points where you look at your expected rate of return versus the reality of what they really achieved. When your actual returns for a year are well above the expectation in your plan, like this year would be at those levels, you can spend a little more in the year ahead, allocating from the growth into your spending account.

And in the years that returns run below it, you can make a conscious decision to pull back on discretionary spending. It’s a smart way to DIY your ongoing management of cash flow in retirement.

Think of your fund’s long-term objective as the middle line on your plan. They publish these objectives on their website. When actual returns are tracking close to that line, somewhere between 6 and 8 per cent, depending on where inflation and your risk appetite sit, you can spend to your plan with confidence and nothing needs to change year to year.

When years like this one, where returns run well above that stated objective, you don’t permanently lift your spending, or assume you have more than you planned for. It’s just a signal that this year you’ve got a buffer to play with, and you can draw that for a trip, a repair you’ve been putting off, or to help an adult child.

Or you could leave the surplus to compound so it can protect you in the years that the guardrail will inevitably run the other way. This is really just managing sequencing risk in action.

Now, use this year’s results to actually do your check-in. Compare your returns against the median for your category, not against the market darling of the year. Look past the one-year number to the 10-year figures and while you’re there, check your fees aren’t outrageous.

Chant West suggests the median admin fees (excluding investment fees, which are netted from the returns data) in pension phase funds across the growth category, for a $250,000 balance is 0.26 per cent.

And, for a $500,000 balance, the median pension phase admin fee comes down to 0.23 per cent. Accumulation funds are slightly cheaper. The median admin fee sits at 0.25 per cent on $250,000 and 0.21 per cent on a $500,000 balance. (Please note these medians capture industry funds, public sector funds, corporate funds, retail funds and wrap accounts).

And finally, if you’re over 60, check your super has actually moved into the tax-free retirement phase, since that’s a big reason why pension returns beat accumulation returns every single year. Ten minutes a year is all this needs to take – and you should do it every year.

Bec Wilson is 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 takes into account their own personal circumstances before making any financial decisions.

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