MLC completes Retirement Boost launch with income phase

Yasmine Raso

Senior Journalist, Financial Newswire

3 March 2026

Insignia Financial’s super and retirement platform, MLC Expand, has completed the launch of its MLC Retirement Boost solution with the final retirement income piece made available to financial advisers and their clients, following the soft launch of its savings product mid-last year.

Borne out of a partnership with TAL and Challenger to jointly develop the solution, MLC Retirement Boost’s retirement income phase is intended to offer members a “tax-free retirement income for life” with the added benefits of investment capabilities designed to accommodate a diverse range of goals and potential Age Pension advantages.

With the release of the retirement income phase, financial advisers are now able to offer MLC Retirement Boost as a “complete solution” to their clients.

MLC Expand CEO, Liz McCarthy, said MLC Retirement Boost has been designed to address heightened concerns over the funds needed to live a comfortable retirement.

“We know that with more than three million Australians retiring in the next decade, many people face uncertainty around how long their savings will last. We also know that retirement is evolving, and Australians’ attitudes toward retirement are changing,” she said.

“For too long as an industry, we’ve viewed accumulation and pension as two distinct and separate phases, but that doesn’t match how we know Australians are actually experiencing retirement anymore. The traditional model of fully exiting the workforce and withdrawing your super as a lump sum is becoming less common. Australians are living longer, working differently and expecting more from their retirement savings.

“It’s with all this in mind that we developed MLC Retirement Boost. In the savings phase, it’s designed to unlock the potential of a member’s superannuation at no extra cost – potentially creating a higher retirement income from their first contribution. The earlier members sign-up, the more potential for Centrelink benefits in retirement – so it’s a no brainer in the savings phase!

“In the retirement income phase, MLC Retirement Boost is designed to give retirees greater certainty – consistent, tax‑free income for life – with the added potential to increase retirement income through concessional treatments not available through standard pension products.”

In addition to the product launch the MLC-Challenger-TAL collaboration has also seen the establishment of the Centre of Excellence, a new financial adviser-dedicated hub offering expert technical insights, case studies, information, and client support tools and calculators to help advisers leverage the MLC Retirement Boost solution to deliver improved outcomes for clients.

“Through our own modelling we know that when used to its full potential in both the savings and retirement income phases, complemented by our traditional retirement products like an account-based pension, MLC Retirement Boost can improve your clients’ income in retirement by up to 60%. This solution will be life changing for many and is the future of retirement in Australia,” McCarthy said.

“We’ve launched MLC Retirement Boost on MLC Expand so advisers can utilise it as part of their broader advice offering, to provide their clients greater optionality and certainty in their retirement planning.

“Through feedback from financial advisers during our soft launch of the savings phase, we know they’ve been calling out for greater competition in this space. With the launch of MLC Retirement Boost’s income phase, they’ll be able to help their clients unlock higher lifetime income, while providing the flexibility they want – including access to MLC Expand’s full investment menu, spouse protection and the ability to access capital in line with the schedule.

“One of the key differentiators with MLC Retirement Boost, and the thing advisers have told us they’re most excited about, is the newly launched Centre of Excellence, a unique point of difference in our partnership with TAL and Challenger. Advisers can now access a range of specialised resources, including a digital Retirement Boost Optimiser tool that visualises a client’s projected total retirement income across super, MLC Retirement Boost and the Age Pension, helping advisers tailor more effective strategies. This is another example of how MLC Expand is now the super and retirement platform of choice for advisers and their teams.

“This is just the next step for us though and, in partnership with TAL and Challenger, we will keep improving on and innovating in this space.”