Super pensions: Trends in payment frequency, flexibility, fees and more

In the reams of reporting and commentary on superannuation, the focus is mostly on building your retirement balance. Historically, relatively little attention has been given to what happens next in the retirement phase.

Many super funds have been working behind the scenes to improve their retirement income products. Some have also developed annuity-style products that provide income for life or for a set period to address members’ fears about their money running out due to longevity, inflation and investment risks.

But innovation in this area has been disappointingly slow, three years after the release of the retirement income covenant (RIC).

It was generally anticipated that the RIC would lead to a flurry of new pension products but, for various reasons, this has not been the case.

Instead, funds have been tinkering around the edges of their existing account-based pension products, focusing on more flexible, convenient access to retirement savings, developing retirement calculators and other digital resources, and improving communication with members in the lead up to retirement and in retirement phase. But even these efforts have slowed.

More flexible super pensions

In an April 2025 survey of pension funds, SuperRatings found only a small number of funds have launched new retirement products in the last couple of years.

In recent years there has been a major shift towards more flexibility around pension payment set up, frequency and payment date options, but this too has stalled.

“Historically, some of the more innovative solutions were being offered by smaller funds that are now merging, resulting in a decline in pension flexibility over the short term. We expect this will rise again as funds launch new products or expand the options available within existing products,” says SuperRatings Insights manager Joshua Lowen.

Traditionally, funds have offered payments from their account-based retirement pension products monthly, quarterly, twice a year or annually. But the trend has been towards fortnightly payments.

Lowen says the latest survey found that as of June 2024:

• 86% of funds now offer fortnightly payments, up from 72% in 2023
• 7% of funds offer weekly payments, up from 5%
• All funds offer monthly or annual payments
• 98% of funds allow quarterly payments
• 95% allow half-yearly payments.

More frequent pension payments allow fund members to better manage their cash flow, especially those members who also receive a full or part Age Pension. As the Age Pension is paid fortnightly, retirees could opt to receive their super pension payments on alternate weeks.

Technology is also helping to cut red tape and response times.

• 55% of pension funds enable people to open a pension account online, up from 47%
• 68% of pension funds allow partial withdrawals online (that is, occasional lump sum withdrawals in addition to regular pension payments), up from 55%.

Improvements in digital functionality have also reduced the time members can expect to wait to access their savings. Most funds (57%, up from 52%) now provide access to savings in two to three days, while 13% offer access within one day (down from 23%).