Cyber risk protections now measured against super fund readiness

Yasmine Raso

Senior Journalist

23 March 2026

As superannuation balances become increasingly susceptible to fraud attacks perpetrated by cyber criminals, the criteria for the consumer-facing benchmark determining a super fund’s ‘retirement-readiness’, the Epic Retirement Tick, has now been updated to include cyber security.

A joint venture between Chant West and the Epic Retirement Institute first launched in 2025, the Epic Retirement Tick provides consumers with an assessment of how “fit for purpose” their super fund is for retirement by measuring against 20 criteria, including investment options tailored to the pension phase, retirement income products, drawdown guidance, advice pathways, calculators and modelling tools, education and engagement strategies, and service delivery measures such as pension payment timeliness, call centre performance, and now cyber security.

Ian Fryer, General Manager at Chant West, said the update reflects Australia’s wider cyber security landscape and that cyber risk is no longer “just an IT or compliance issue” but a “core component of advice service delivery”.

“As the balances of Australian super accounts are growing, they are increasingly becoming attractive targets for cyber criminals. Fraud risks can arise during pension commencement, rollovers, withdrawals or account changes, meaning funds must demonstrate strong cyber protection for their members,” he said.

“To achieve the Tick, super funds need to demonstrate that they are cyber secure, and that they receive external certification of cyber security measures, at least every two years.

“They need to demonstrate secure online ID for digital identity verification. They also need to meet multifactor identification requirements to login and also for a range of other high risk activities, such as ad hoc withdrawals, changing payment details, and also if there’s a change to the power of attorney.

“The focus on cyber is a growing risk, and once you’re drawing down your money, you are absolutely a target.”

Fryer also noted that super funds are also facing some challenges in both the development of and awareness around “scalable” lifetime income products that are better suited to retiree goals, as well as quality and affordable advice to go along with them.

“We need to see super funds not just offering products designed to deliver income for life (including annuities, pooled longevity solutions or hybrid retirement income structures), but also educating members about the solution and explaining when they are appropriate,” he said.

“The industry is still in the early stages of developing scalable lifetime income solutions, and there is more work to be done. Many funds are grappling with product complexity, regulatory settings and low member awareness of longevity protection products.

“Currently, it’s very hard for a consumer to compare one product against another. Yes, you can look at performance, you can look at fees, but how do you compare the services they provide? When you get to retirement, those services are just as important, maybe even more important, than fund performance.

“It’s not good enough for a super fund to just to have a product. It is also important to have the education, guidance and advice about these products. If professional financial advice is needed, we don’t want it to cost members $5000. We want it to cost $1500.

“What we are looking for is education or advice that helps members specifically on whether to and then how to use a lifetime product. With more Australians entering retirement with larger super balances than previous generations, the pressure on funds is to deliver both secure systems and sustainable income.”