In general, people should take on more investment risk earlier in their careers and reduce that risk as they near retirement.
Australians in default superannuation investment strategies (MySuper) would be collectively $46 billion better off if their investments had been personalised to their age, according to new analysis from leading global investment firm Russell Investments. That translates to an average uplift of approximately $3,200 for each MySuper account holder.
Using its GoalTracker® strategy as a benchmark, Russell Investments compared the performance of its age-based MySuper solution to the industry’s MySuper options* over the five years to March 2025. The firm estimates that 14.5 million MySuper accounts would have achieved an average retirement savings uplift of 6.6% over the period if their investments had been aligned to their age.
“Russell Investments launched GoalTracker five years ago to help Australians close the gap between the income needed for the retirement they want and what they are on track to achieve,” said Jason Edgar, Head of Asia Pacific at Russell Investments.
“Many Australians remain in one-size-fits-all investment strategies that don’t reflect their individual needs. We now have the track record to prove that personalising super through age-based investing and individualised strategies improves retirement outcomes.”
While age is a valuable starting point, meaningful personalisation goes further. Helping individuals set a clear retirement income goal provides the foundation for stronger engagement and smarter decisions – from how much to contribute, to how to invest and when to retire. With the right goal in place, super can work harder toward the lifestyle each person wants after work.
“GoalTracker gives participants tangible measures of progress, not just a lump sum or return number, but a view of what their income in retirement could look like and how that is tracking against their retirement lifestyle goal,” Edgar added. “And we’re seeing stronger engagement and outcomes as a result.”
According to Russell Investments, more than half (55%) of its super fund members who have set a retirement income goal are now on track or exceeding their desired outcome – a 43 percent increase since the GoalTracker tools launched in 2020.
“This demonstrates a willingness among Australians to engage with their super, set a retirement income goal and track to it,” Edgar said.
Russell Investments emphasised that super funds have a powerful role to play in improving long-term outcomes, whether by supporting better contribution habits or managing investment risk dynamically on behalf of people.
“Good decisions early and throughout a person’s working life can make a huge difference,” said Joel Atputharaj, Director, Retirement Solutions at Russell Investments.
“In general, people should take on more investment risk earlier in their careers and reduce that risk as they near retirement. But knowing how a person is tracking toward their retirement income goal allows us to go further.
“Two people might be a few years out from retirement but need very different strategies. Someone who’s on track can afford to reduce risk and preserve what they’ve built, while someone tracking behind might need to take more risk, contribute more, and/or retire a little later to catch up. That’s the power of knowing where you stand and adjusting accordingly.
“This is where experts like Russell Investments can really help – managing asset allocation dynamically to help deliver outcomes based on each person’s actual goals and personal circumstances,” Atputharaj added.
Russell Investments, through the Russell Investments Master Trust, manages the investments of iQ Super – for Life, iQ Retirement products, Nationwide Super, Resource Super, and Salaam superannuation. The Russell Investments Master Trust has approximately AUD$12 billion in assets and over 80,000 members (as at 31 March 2025).
The GoalTracker MySuper option launched in March 2020 and has delivered 5-year returns ranging from 8.15% p.a. to 10.83% p.a. across different age bands**.
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