Joint ASIC and APRA research on superannuation funds’ responses to the Retirement Income Covenant has identified a chasm between the best and worst, with one in five funds still unable to track how effectively it is supporting members as they retire. 

The research was conducted in part as a reaction to criticism that regulators demand “good” retirement income responses from funds without stipulating what “good” actually looks like.  

ASIC Commissioner Simone Constant told the Conexus Retirement Leaders Summit in Canberra on Wednesday that “while we are seeing some green shoots, it’s clear there are leaders and laggards” three years on from when super funds became legally obliged to assist members with retirement. 

“Some trustees are hitting the straights, while others are still on the starting blocks,” Constant told the summit, which is a joint initiative held by Investment Magazine publisher Conexus Financial and its philanthropically funded think-tank The Conexus Institute.