Australian Prudential Regulation Authority to publish new findings on trustees’ Retirement Income Covenant progress and expand retirement phase reporting

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), in remarks by Deputy Chair Margaret Cole, set out its latest expectations and work program for the retirement phase of superannuation, focusing on trustees’ implementation of the Retirement Income Covenant and new transparency initiatives covering retirement products and member outcomes. APRA estimates retirement assets in APRA-regulated funds could rise to around AUD 3 trillion over the next two decades from about AUD 550 billion currently, increasing the need for trustees to support member decision-making at and through retirement. Building on a previous APRA and Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) thematic review and last year’s pulse survey, APRA and ASIC have completed another pulse survey this year and intend to publish a report later this year. Preliminary results indicate 9 out of 10 trustees rate their implementation progress as “good” or “very good”, with none rating it “excellent”. Separately, APRA is working with Treasury on a retirement reporting framework, with proposed indicators and metrics released by Treasury for consultation last week; the framework is intended to cover product offerings, member outcomes and cohorting practices, including drawdown options, take-up of retirement products, and the provision or referral of advice, with APRA to publish the data annually from 2028. APRA also pointed to its first publication of retirement-phase product performance data in June, covering 600 multi-sector investment options, and flagged further insights over time including in next year’s Comprehensive Product Performance Package. Next steps include APRA and ASIC finalising and publishing this year’s pulse survey report later this year, and further development of the Treasury-led retirement reporting framework ahead of annual publication commencing in 2028.