Regulators warn super funds falling short on retirement obligations

Superannuation funds have been sent a clear message by the financial services regulators that they are falling short on their obligations under the Retirement Income Covenant.

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) have released the 2025 Retirement Income Covenant Pulse Check which they say shows that the gap is widening between trustees actively promoting better retirement outcomes and those who are not.

They said that while some trustees have shown leadership by investing significant effort to meet the needs of their members transitioning to and in retirement, with some innovating and driving best practice, far too many have been content with making only incremental improvements.

“APRA and ASIC again call on industry to lift its focus on improving retirement outcomes for their members. All trustees should take steps to meet better practices as outlined in the report,” the regulator said.

APRA deputy chair, Margaret Cole said the two regulators are committed to holding superannuation trustees to account for improving the experience of members approaching retirement.

ASIC Commissioner Simone Constant said the over 1.5 million Australians already in retirement and the wave of 2.5 million entering retirement over the next decade, deserve better from their superannuation trustees.

“Super trustees have had three years to develop meaningful retirement income strategies that meet the diverse needs of their members – and meet the law,” she said.

‘Retirees collectively entrust almost $600 billion in savings to the stewardship of super trustees, who should uphold their confidence by focusing on retirement strategies that meet their customer needs. This will become ever more important as the waves of retirement continue and with two in five trustees expected to have more than half their members in retirement by 2045.’