The funds best at helping you draw down your superannuation
Idea
It has been easy for many of us to ignore pensions. Money comes in, investments progress, balance grows. You look at him from time to time, think he “looks good” and move on with your life. But once retirement is no longer a distant thing, something changes.
Suddenly, “How much do I have?” You don’t ask. You’re asking something much more difficult: “Will this actually be enough to live on, and for how long?”
That’s when many Australians discovered a disturbing truth: the fund that had helped them save money for 30 years might not be equipped to help them to use that money.
Saving for retirement and living off this money are really different problems. One is about growth, investment and keeping wages low. The other is about turning a lump sum into a reliable income that will potentially last for two or three decades while juggling market fluctuations, annuities, healthcare costs, and the sheer unpredictability of a long life.
Most of us have never asked our retirement fund a simple but important question: Are you really ready to help me in retirement?
Last year, working with retirement research company Chant West, Epic Retirement SignAn annual assessment of how pre-retirement and retiree super funds are performing. Together we developed a robust set of criteria, evaluated Australia’s super funds against them and made the results public, then set about helping ordinary Australians understand how to use those results.
The goal is to make it easier for people to answer this question on their own. Last year’s opening review showed just how much work remains to be done. Only six of approximately 46 Australian super funds met the required standard.
Tick also introduces something the industry has never encountered before: real consumer and market pressure. Once the benchmarks are public and the results visible, funds can no longer simply say retirement is important or run ad campaigns claiming they are “doing retirement well” if they clearly don’t. They need to be able to show this.
Because all too often I see funds with weaker retirement offerings running campaigns and standing at podiums promoting themselves as leaders in retirement. If industry players want to earn that reputation, the answer is not more marketing or more token service. Better services, tools and support are available for members who are about to rely on retirement funds for income.
People really need and want help in the retirement process.
Most Australians have no idea whether their superannuation fund actually provides the most important services when business shuts down.
They want help understanding how to turn their savings into reliable income. They want guidance on how much money they can withdraw each year. They want tools that show how market movements may affect their income. And they want to understand how old-age pensions fit into the picture.
They may also want retirement-specific investment options designed for people who no longer contribute to their retirement but benefit from it, or lifetime income streams that secure living costs for a potentially long life.
They want access to advice, practical calculators and education to help them make decisions. They want their applications to be submitted online, without wet signatures, and processed efficiently. When retirement actually comes, needs continue to evolve.
People want to know they can change their payments easily. They want to trust that their accounts are protected from cyber risks. When something important needs to be resolved, they want to be able to pick up the phone and talk to someone without waiting for half an hour or more. In other words, retirement requires funds to step up their game.
But most Australians have no idea whether their super fund is actually providing the most essential services when business shuts down.
We published this week 2026 criteria for Epic Retirement Sign With more than six months until results are finalized, funds will be given plenty of time to get up to speed on initiatives. The criteria have been expanded from 18 to 20 to reflect increased expectations for retirement income strategies and support.
Some of these have been merged, new ones have been added and the criteria now include the recently published Treasury Best Practice Guidelines for Superannuation Retirement Income Solutions.
They now look at retirement income and deduction products, performance and fees, as well as the layers of advice, guidance and education available to members. They are also looking for support with loan withdrawal strategies, age pension benefits, quality calculators and forecasting tools.
Service standards are also evaluated this year with new categories covering areas such as cyber security, processing time for basic retirement transactions, digital service capacity and complaint levels.
To receive the Tick, a super fund must meet at least 14 of 20 criteria (12 of 18 by 2025) and meet a new overarching requirement on regulatory compliance.
Importantly, this is not a ranking system and does not declare winners. Funds either meet the standard or they do not, and if they do they are given a check mark. The goal is to set a benchmark for what meaningful retirement support actually looks like and teach people to use it when evaluating their pre-retirement funds.
Even though it’s been just over six months since its launch in October 2025, we’re already seeing signs that we’re making an impact. Superannuation heads at super funds report that their projects are gaining stronger management support.
There are early signs that members are shifting from underperforming funds to funds that do more for retirees. And people in the industry are starting to talk about wanting their funds to be rewarded with Tick.
This momentum comes at an important moment.
After decades of almost exclusive focus on savings, superannuation is finally becoming a central discussion in the super system. Regulators are putting more pressure on retirement income strategies.
Funds that want to be remembered for retirement invest more in products and services. Consumers are also starting to ask better questions about what happens when they stop working.
We help focus on what can actually be measured and what Australians should reasonably expect from their super fund. Because while Australia’s super system has done an excellent job of helping people build up their retirement savings, the retirement phase itself is still evolving. Often, the services available to people entering retirement are patchy and inadequate.
Making the criteria public this week is an important part of the process. This allows consumers to see what strong retirement support actually looks like and allows funds to understand the expectations set for the sector and run their plays accordingly, knowing they have plenty of warning.
Because retirement support shouldn’t be a well-marketed mystery. Australians spent decades building their supers. They deserve a system that supports them just as strongly when it’s time to use it.
The new criteria for the Epic Retirement Mark can be reviewed at: www.epicretirement.net/epictick
Bec Wilson is the bestselling author How to Have an Epic Retirement and new releases Prime Time: 27 Lessons for the New Middle Life. Writes a weekly newsletter epicretirement.net and hosts prime time podcast.
- The advice given in this article is general in nature and is not intended to influence readers’ decisions about investments or financial products. They should always seek their own professional advice, taking into account their personal circumstances, before making any financial decisions.
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Bec Wilson is the author of How to Have an Epic Retirement and writes a weekly newsletter for pre- and post-retirees at epicretirement.net.
