Regulators have left superannuation funds in no doubt over the past 12 months about what’s expected of them in meeting their legislated Retirement Income Covenant obligations.

Three years since the RIC came into effect – after years of development and consultation leading up to it – there still remains plenty  to do, with the latest CoreData Best Possible Retirement analysis lending weight to the view that funds must do better. The CoreData analysis found that even though super fund members’ satisfaction with retirement has improved slightly overall from last year to this year, it’s lower than it was two years ago. Industry funds generally performed worst overall, and retail funds performed best, with public-sector funds not far behind the retail cohort.

Whatever funds might be doing behind the scenes to improve retirement for members, the CoreData analysis suggests it’s not having the desired effect. This is bound to heap even more pressure on a sector that has already been taken to task by regulators for not doing enough to support members as they retire.