Switch to retirement planning key for firms to thrive

With the retirement income covenant now in effect – the need to move accumulation-focused retirement planning to decumulation – adviser satisfaction is becoming more important, with data from Adviser Ratings’ upcoming Australian Financial Advice Landscape Report revealing a shift in adviser priorities that superannuation funds should be considering.

According to Adviser Ratings, “2025 data shows that platform-based superannuation funds dominate adviser satisfaction”, beating out the traditionally dominant industry superfund models. Satisfaction in adviser thinking is also supported by fund flow data.

“ProductREX modelling shows Platform Super with $15 billion in modelled inflows, while industry funds face $5 billion in outflow intentions despite being regularly recommended by advisers,” Adviser Ratings said.

It added that the correlation evident between adviser satisfaction and fund flows (0.78) confirms that “service quality now trumps size in adviser decision making, particularly when supporting clients in retirement”.

Data in the report such as overall performance of a fund ranking as the number three driver for retiree-focused advisers, compared with number six for accumulator-focused advisers, highlight the impact an adviser’s ability to efficiently help their clients has on outcomes.

Already, many major players within the Australian market are responding to this shift towards decumulation-focused advisory, launching new programs, bringing in new portfolios and boosting their own advisers’ capabilities.

This week, MLC announced a partnership with TAL and Challenger, launching their MLC Retirement Boost and “Centre of Excellence”. AMP North has also ramped up its retiree income focus through expanding its managed account portfolio as well as making improvements to its online retirement projections platform.

However, most clients still have their super invested in accumulation-based funds, with little to no plan on how to optimise that saved cash once they retire, often due to the fact they are locked into these traditional models.

For super funds looking to improve retirement outcomes for members, Adviser Ratings highlighted five data-informed approaches one can pursue:

1. Leveraging the fact that platform-driven super funds consistently outperform accumulation funds in retirement planning, with “platform providers maintaining a 1.3-point advantage in adviser experience, this choice significantly impacts practice efficiency”.
2. Investing in digital integration, allowing clients access to information surrounding routine queries, again creating greater efficiency.
3. Embracing the price-value equation, with the low-price sensitivity (37 per cent) indicating that clients are willing to pay for retirement products.
4. Building specialist expertise among your advisers, with focus on educating employees and building tools that support modelling of income layering, longevity risk and tax optimisation.
5. Selecting the right partners that can assist with building platform capabilities.

Retirement income-focused super is growing as the model of choice, pushed by legislative changes and backed by data highlighting its efficiency and effectiveness, and superfunds and advisers embracing this model are drawing ahead of their peers.

As highlighted by Adviser Ratings: “As the profession adapts to serve Australia’s ageing population, retirement income planning emerges not as a threat to traditional models but as the next frontier of value creation. The advisers and funds who recognise this shift – who invest in the right platforms won’t just survive, they’ll thrive.”