Super funds are finally overhauling retirement. Here’s what’s changing

November 7, 2026 — 5:09am

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There are currently between 150,000 and 200,000 Aussies entering retirement every year, as the Baby Boomers and the Gen Xers converge on this exciting stage of life. That’s potentially 2 million people who are heading towards some of the biggest financial decisions of their lives, often with a blindfold on.

And I need to tell you the truth. If you leave retirement planning until you’re 65, by the time you’re sitting down with an adviser or your super fund, many of your biggest retirement decisions have effectively already been made for you, whether you like it or not.

How much you have saved, how your money has been invested, and how much choice you have about your lifestyle in the years before and after, all matter earlier. You might not have consciously made those choices, but by putting them off, you’ve narrowed your options.

That’s why I think more Australians need to understand their pre-retirement and retirement choices earlier, get help to work out what they can do to improve their position, and have the confidence to act while they still have time to make a difference.

But that requires two things: better quality advice that really does act in the consumers’ best interests, and super funds that step up and provide practical, affordable retirement planning services, and good support for people who don’t need or can’t afford to be paying thousands of dollars a year on comprehensive advice.

Particularly when that advice may come with a recommendation to moving their money onto an investment platform with ongoing adviser fees.

For many Australians retiring in the next decade, retirement income will come from a combination of super and the age pension.

And, there’s some encouraging news on that front. Over the last 12 months, some of Australia’s super funds have made........

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