Pension fund of the year 2025: What makes a winner?

Since the introduction of compulsory super in 1992, the focus of our superannuation system – from the media, government, regulators and super funds themselves – has been on the accumulation phase.

There is applause and awards for the funds that deliver the best returns for members as if it’s a race past the post; the post being the day you retire and count your winnings. But that’s just the beginning.

While building your nest egg is important, the real challenge begins once you start drawing on it to pay for your living expenses in retirement. You want your money to last the distance and be invested in a way that gives you peace of mind.

That’s why your choice of pension fund is so important; because there are real differences in the strategies, products and services on offer.

What makes a winning pension fund?

The theme of Chant West’s 2025 super fund awards was ‘Building a better retirement system’, in recognition of the need for more awareness of and action on the retirement phase of super.

Chant West general manager Ian Fryer said, “We shouldn’t be talking so much about the superannuation system but about the ‘retirement system’ – that is what our industry is all about – income in retirement!

“’Building’ reflects that it’s going to take time to go where we need to be, it’s a process. We need to make sure that members have all the tools they need, be that the right products and investments, or the full range of advice and guidance services, to facilitate every one of our members getting the most out of their super in retirement.

“This year’s awards showcase those funds who are embracing the necessary innovation, critical thinking and change required to ensure more Australians enjoy a financially secure retirement”.

SuperRatings executive director Kirby Rappell said SuperRatings has changed the name of this award category from Pension Fund of the Year to Retirement Offering in recognition of the fact that the best pension products offer more than retirement income. “They also need to include tools, advice, help and guidance for members,” he says.

Pension funds of the year

SuperRatings was first cab off the rank with its 2025 awards night held on 30 October 2024, while Chant West announced its 2025 winner on 21 May 2025.

UniSuper was named 2025 Retirement Offering of the Year by SuperRatings. Despite being a regular finalist in the category, this is UniSuper’s first win from SuperRatings since 2017, although it has won Chant West’s top award three times in eight years.

“UniSuper offers a well-rounded retirement offering which stacks up well on performance and fees,” says Rappell. It also has a lifetime income option designed to allay members’ concerns about running out of money.

UniSuper’s Lifetime Income provides guaranteed income for life, adjusted for inflation. Payments are not affected by market movements and you can choose to have your partner receive your payments when you die. A residual lump sum is payable to your estate if you (and your partner if applicable) pass away within a guaranteed period.

UniSuper was also runner-up in the Chant West awards, but its top accolade went to Aware Super for the second year running.

Aware Super also won three other Chant West award categories – Member services, Investments and Advice services.

Fryer says Aware Super is strongly focused on retirement. While its investment performance is strong overall, he says its more defensive pension options are different to super, with some liquid alternatives and defensive equities to provide a smoother return journey better suited to pension members.

Aware also has a strong advice offering around retirement, with intra-fund advice over the phone and comprehensive advice through a team of about 70 in-house advisers.

The table below lists the best pension funds for the past nine years as awarded by Chant West and SuperRatings. As you can see, the pension fund plaudits over that period have gone mostly to industry funds, with the exception of corporate fund TelstraSuper. TelstraSuper has won plaudits for its strong focus on its pension fund members who represent a quarter of the fund’s assets.

Apart from TelstraSuper, three funds – Aware Super, UniSuper and Australian Retirement Trust (ART)  – have been out and out champions in the pension space. (QSuper and Sunsuper, both previous winners, merged to form the Australian Retirement Trust.)

Sources: Chant West and SuperRatings

*Now part of Australian Retirement Trust

Prior to the 2025 awards, QSuper had won the top award six times. Rappell says innovation in the pension space has been disappointing overall given the large numbers of members entering retirement phase.

QSuper’s trailblazing lifetime pension allows members to take out the same amount of money each year until they die, so they can be confident that their money won’t run out. Another advantage is that only 60% of the money in a lifetime pension account is counted towards the Age Pension assets test, unlike other pension accounts where 100% of your balance is assessed.

QSuper’s annuity-like lifetime pension is an example of the concept of income layering in retirement. The idea is you put part of your retirement balance in a product like the lifetime pension to be used for essential spending but not your entire balance. You then use other pension accounts exposed to markets and potential capital growth for discretionary spending.  

UniSuper’s pension product is very strong on both investments and advice, with a team of over 160 offering advice, support and delivery – from a simple pension set-up service for $500, to comprehensive advice starting from $1,500. Fryer says over 50% of members who enter the pension phase receive personal advice.

He says UniSuper’s long-standing focus on listed assets is now supported by meaningful allocations of unlisted assets that will help smooth the ride for pension members.

More funds are beginning to offer annuity-like pension products designed to provide income for life and peace of mind for people who are worried about outliving their savings.

ChantWest’s lifetime product award, for the second year running, went to AMP MyNorth Lifetime which Fryer describes as the most sophisticated of the current offerings.

Industry behemoth AustralianSuper has announced plans to launch its lifetime product in 2025 and more are set to follow.

The bottom line

Choosing a pension fund that offers the best retirement outcome for your personal circumstances and preferences is every bit as important as choosing the right super fund; perhaps more so.

The annual pension fund/retirement offering awards are a great way to check what the best funds are doing right at a particular point in time, but your search shouldn’t end there. Over the next few years, more funds are expected to launch innovative pension products that reduce the risk of outliving your savings, or provide more flexibility around how you withdraw income, so when retirement beckons it’s important to compare pension funds.