Ian Fryer

Chant West and the Epic Retirement Institute has announced the outcome of the 2027 Epic Retirement Tick assessment. Three new funds join the line-up of funds that received the accreditation in 2026, including:

• AMP Super
• CFS FirstChoice, and
• Vision Super

These funds join Australian Retirement Trust – Super Savings, Aware Super, Brighter Super, Hostplus and UniSuper in the list of accredited funds.

Chant West General Manager, Ian Fryer, said there were some new themes that dominated the assessment this year, reflecting the changing and complex operating environment for super funds.

“There were new criteria introduced this year assessing cyber-safety, as well as a complaints-handling metric and more detailed requirements around access to financial advice and education. We saw a marked improvement in the way super funds were managing these important aspects of their operations,” he said.

“There has been a lot of development work by retail super funds across advice provision (digital & phone), engagement, and retirement income tools and calculators, leading to two of the three new funds being retail funds. Several more funds introduced a retirement bonus this year, but there was less innovation in terms of lifetime products. We’re hoping to see more work in this space by next year,” says Fryer.

Author and founder of the Epic Retirement Institute, Bec Wilson, said “the first year of the Tick put a visible benchmark in front of funds and consumers. Funds that didn’t meet the standard wanted to understand where they fell short and what they needed to do differently. Some have brought forward retirement initiatives, improved existing services or put greater focus on areas that weren’t measuring up. Impressively, some of the funds that received the Tick have continued to build on what they offer.

“That is exactly what we hoped would happen. The Tick was never designed simply to identify the funds meeting the standard. It was designed to help lift the standard across the industry,” she said.

The retirement-readiness framework, developed in a partnership between Chant West and Bec Wilson’s Epic Retirement Institute, offers a consumer-focussed assessment against 20 key criteria, evaluating the range of services and support super funds offer to pre-retirees and retirees. Funds must satisfy at least 14 out of the 20 criteria, with successful funds earning the ‘Epic Retirement Tick – powered by Chant West’.

Ian Fryer said super funds’ response to the introduction of the Tick has been very positive and created genuine dialogue about how the funds can lift their standards for the benefit of members heading towards and already in retirement

“Ultimately, we want as many Australians as possible to have access to the advice, products, tools and service that help them maximise their financial security in retirement. Super funds are working towards the same outcome, and the Tick supports their journey towards achieving that goal,” Fryer said.

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Bec Wilson

Chant West and the Epic Retirement Institute has announced the outcome of their new Epic Retirement Tick assessment, a first-of-its-kind framework for Australian super funds. Six super funds have earned the Tick:

• Australian Retirement Trust – Super Savings
• Aware Super
• Brighter Super
• Hostplus
• Telstra Super, and
• UniSuper.

The retirement-readiness framework, developed in a partnership between Chant West and Bec Wilson’s Epic Retirement Institute, offers a consumer-focussed assessment against 18 key criteria, evaluating the range of services and support super funds offer to pre-retirees and retirees. It establishes a benchmark for best practice for super funds’ retirement offering to members.  Funds must satisfy at least 12 out of the 18 criteria, with successful funds earning the ‘Epic Retirement Tick – powered by Chant West’.

Chant West General Manager, Ian Fryer, said the initiative establishes a clear and easy-to-understand benchmark to help super fund members understand what ‘good’ looks like as they move towards retirement.

“Ultimately, we want as many Australians as possible to have access to the advice, products, tools and service that help them maximise their financial security in retirement,” Fryer said.

“We’re working closely with super funds to drive engagement and action to build strong retirement offerings for their members. This accreditation aims to create a practical framework for fund members to understand how their super fund can support them as they move towards retirement,” he said.

Author and founder of the Epic Retirement Institute, Bec Wilson, said “this report gives fund members a clear picture of how their fund stacks up against a robust set of criteria that reflect the realities of retirement in Australia today. It also sends a message to the funds themselves, showing them what matters most to their members. That’s really important – everyday Australians approaching retirement need to have a voice at the table, so they’re not invisible in the system that’s meant to serve them.

“At the time of this inaugural report, just six funds have qualified for the Tick. We need to see more, as Australians headed for retirement deserve better,” Wilson said.

“This is actually a huge opportunity for super funds. Funds that step up to deliver true retirement-ready services will not only win trust, they will set a new standard for how Australians experience retirement,” she said.

The Epic Retirement Tick criteria outline 18 key measures of a fund’s retirement readiness including investment options tailored to the pension phase, retirement income products, drawdown guidance, advice pathways, calculators and modelling tools, education and engagement strategies, and service delivery measures such as pension payment timeliness and call centre performance. Funds must meet the benchmark in at least 12 of the 18 criteria to be eligible for the Epic Retirement Tick in 2025-26. Criteria will be expanded in future years as the retirement landscape evolves.

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