Evidence-backed. Sourced from APRA’s official 2025 performance test results and CPPP dashboards, Super Consumers Australia research (November 2025), ABC News, the Super Members Council (February 2026), and Treasury consultation documents. General information only — not financial advice. Super fund performance is just one factor in choosing a fund; consider your own insurance needs, investment options and fees. Consult a licensed financial adviser before switching. Last updated: June 2026.
⚡ Key Takeaways
- APRA’s 2025 annual superannuation performance test assessed 563 products. Every single MySuper product (52/52) and every non-platform trustee-directed product (374/374) passed. The problem is concentrated in platform trustee-directed products, where 7 of 137 products failed — holding around $1.02 billion in assets and approximately 8,500 member accounts. [1][2]
- But the pass/fail headline understates the real issue. Among platform products with a 10-year performance history, APRA’s own commentary notes that more than 40% still show significant investment underperformance relative to benchmarks — meaning tens of thousands of Australians are in products that scrape through the test but still drag on their retirement. [1]
- The financial cost compounds relentlessly. The Productivity Commission and Super Consumers Australia modelling shows that a 0.5% annual gap in net returns or fees can cost the typical full-time worker around $100,000 over their working life. ABC reporting on Super Consumers’ November 2025 research shows dud retirement and choice options can leave retirees $57,000–$205,000 worse off than stronger products. [5][6][7][8]
- The system has a critical weakness: if your product fails the APRA test, your trustee must notify you — but research consistently finds that many members stay put anyway, either not understanding the letter or not knowing how to act on it. [9]
- A new concern in 2026: the Super Members Council’s February 2026 switching report warns that marketing and lead generation activity is pulling members out of strong APRA-tested funds into higher-fee, underperforming platforms and SMSFs — adding over $160 million a year in extra fees across the system. [15]
APRA Just Exposed the Worst Super Funds of 2025 — Check If Yours Is Costing You Thousands
By The Fine Print editorial team | Last updated: June 2026 | 14 min read | ⚠️ Not financial advice
Every year, APRA publishes the results of the superannuation performance test — the official government scorecard that measures whether your fund is actually growing your retirement savings at a competitive rate. In 2025, the good news is that the MySuper default market has largely cleaned itself up. The bad news is that the platform “choice” segment — where millions of Australians’ money sits in investment options chosen for them by employers or advisers — is still riddled with underperforming products. And in 2026, there’s a new threat: aggressive marketing that’s moving members out of well-tested funds into higher-fee structures. This guide breaks down what APRA actually found, what it means in dollar terms, and three things you can do right now to check if your super is working for you.📋 What’s in This Guide
What APRA Actually Found in the 2025 Test
The 2025 annual superannuation performance test assessed 563 products across three segments. The results look very different depending on which segment you’re in. [1][2]2025 test results at a glance:
- MySuper products: 52 assessed — 52 passed. 100% pass rate. Zero fails.
- Non-platform trustee-directed products (TDPs): 374 assessed — 374 passed. 100% pass rate. Zero fails.
- Platform trustee-directed products (TDPs): 137 assessed — 130 passed, 3 first-time fails, 4 repeat fails. Total: 7 failing products.
⚠️ But the pass/fail test understates the real problem. APRA’s own 2025 commentary flags that among platform products with a 10-year track record, more than 40% still show significant investment underperformance relative to benchmarks — meaning they scraped through the binary pass/fail test while still delivering meaningfully worse returns than comparable products. The Comprehensive Product Performance Package (CPPP) dashboards APRA released in 2025 were specifically designed to make this visible beyond the headline pass/fail number. [1][12]
The Dollar Impact — Why “Just a Bit Worse” Matters Enormously
The reason APRA’s performance test attracts attention beyond finance circles is the dollar impact of seemingly small performance gaps compounding over decades. [5][6]- The Productivity Commission and Super Consumers Australia both model that a 0.5 percentage point annual gap in net returns or fees can cost the typical full-time worker around $100,000 by retirement. [5][6]
- ABC reporting on Super Consumers’ November 2025 research on retirement options shows that dud choice and retirement products can leave retirees $57,000–$205,000 worse off over their retirement compared with stronger alternatives. [7][8]
- For APRA’s 2025 commentary that 40% of platform products with 10-year histories significantly underperform — this means tens of thousands of Australians are in products where that $100,000+ drag is genuinely occurring, silently, year by year. [1][3]
Four Ways This System Hits Everyday Australians
1. Staying in a failed product after receiving the notice
If your product fails the APRA test, your trustee is legally required to send you a notification. But consumer groups and APRA both consistently find that many members stay put anyway — either because they don’t understand what the letter means, don’t know how to compare alternatives, or simply don’t act out of inertia. For members in those 7 failing platform products (and the 37 platform fails the year before), staying put means continuing to earn less than the benchmark after fees, progressively widening the retirement gap versus members in better funds. [9][7]2. The big dollar cost of “just a bit worse” performance
As shown above, a 0.5% annual underperformance gap can cost $100,000 over a working life. APRA’s finding that 40% of platform products with 10-year histories significantly underperform means many Australians are experiencing a drag far larger than 0.5%. The product doesn’t need to be in the fail list to be quietly costing you a retirement’s worth of compound growth. [5][6][1]3. Underperformance hides in platform complexity
MySuper products are now heavily tested, transparent and largely cleaned up. But thousands of choice investment options on platforms are either not subject to the same strict performance test or only partially tested. Many employer or adviser-recommended “default” options on platforms sit in this world: higher fees, complex investment menus, patchy long-term performance records, and less clear public benchmarking. This makes it genuinely difficult for ordinary members to identify that they’re in a dud product until years of underperformance have already compounded. [4][3]4. Aggressive marketing is now pulling members out of good funds
The Super Members Council’s February 2026 switching report adds a new dimension to the problem. Marketing and lead-generation activity — including online advertising, comparison sites and financial influencers — is pulling members out of strong, APRA-tested funds and into higher-fee platforms and SMSFs. The SMC estimates this activity is adding over $160 million a year in extra fees across the system. Members who switch out of a well-performing MySuper product into a higher-fee platform product or an SMSF they’re not actively managing can experience the same $100,000+ retirement drag as someone in a failing fund — they just arrived there voluntarily. [15]What Changed Between 2023 and 2026
- 2024 performance test: Assessed 57 MySuper and 590 trustee-directed products. All MySuper products passed. 37 of 192 platform TDPs failed, with 27 repeat fails — mostly from NM Super and IOOF — required to close to new members. The 2024 test was the high watermark for platform failures before the 2025 improvement. [13]
- 2025 test improvement: Platform TDP fail count dropped from 37 to 7. But APRA was explicit that the fall in outright fails does not mean the platform segment is healthy — the 40% significant underperformance finding among products with 10-year histories makes that clear. [1][2]
- APRA’s Comprehensive Product Performance Package (CPPP): In 2025 APRA released its CPPP insights paper and dashboards, giving a richer picture of product performance beyond the binary pass/fail result. This includes fees and risk-adjusted return metrics designed to surface chronic underperformers even where they scrape through the test. [12]
- Treasury review of performance test design (2024): Treasury released consultation options on redesigning the test, including questions about benchmarks, treatment of unlisted assets, and whether more products should be in scope. [14]
- MP Nicolette Boele’s benchmark controversy (2025): In Parliament, MP Boele argued that the current benchmark structure discourages long-term green infrastructure investment, claiming it “holds back millions” in retirement savings by skewing fund allocation toward short-term benchmark-chasing rather than future-focused assets. [15]
- Super Consumers’ November 2025 retirement research: Found that even in the post-test era, high-fee, underperforming options continue to be sold to retirees — often on platforms — at a cost of up to $205,000 over retirement versus better alternatives. [7][8]
✅ Three Actions to Take Now
Action 1: Check whether your exact fund and investment option has failed or is in the danger zone
The performance test measures your specific investment option, not just the fund name. Before you can check anything, you need to know the exact product name. Find it on your latest super statement or in your fund’s app — it will say something like “XYZ Super — Balanced Option” or “ABC Platform — Growth Portfolio.” Then take two steps. If you’re in a MySuper product: look up your fund in APRA’s 2025 MySuper performance test results and the ATO’s YourSuper comparison tool. This confirms whether it passed and shows how it ranks on fees and net returns against peers. If you’re in a choice or platform investment option: search APRA’s 2025 trustee-directed product performance test tables for your exact product name. If your option appears as a first-time or repeat fail — or if it failed in 2024 — you are in a product that has underperformed APRA’s benchmark over up to 10 years. That is a fact, not a forecast. [1][2][9]Action 2: If your fund or option is a dud, move — don’t just file the letter
If your product failed the 2025 test (or the 2024 test and you haven’t moved yet), seriously consider switching to an alternative with strong long-term net performance and lower fees — particularly if your trustee’s remediation plan is vague or hasn’t produced results. Don’t assume the problem will fix itself. Even if your product passed the binary test, check APRA’s CPPP dashboards or independent research for 5–10-year net returns relative to peers. A product that passes by a small margin while still trailing strong competitors by 0.4–0.5% per year annually is a “quiet laggard” — it won’t generate a notification letter, but it will still cost you over a career. Remember: switching away from an underperformer even five years before retirement can be worth tens of thousands; the compounding works in reverse once you’re in the right fund. Before switching, check whether your current fund holds life insurance that would be lost on transfer — that may affect your decision. [7][9][5]Action 3: Set an annual “APRA day” to keep your fund accountable
APRA releases new performance test results annually, typically in the second half of the calendar year. Set a calendar reminder for every September to spend 30 minutes on your super: log into your fund’s app, check your investment option, total fees and last year’s reported performance, then look up your option in APRA’s latest performance test results and CPPP dashboards. If APRA, your fund or a consumer group flags problems — underperformance, high fees, closure to new members — treat that as a prompt to re-evaluate, not background noise. The super system is designed to be a set-and-check-annually exercise, not a set-and-forget exercise. One check a year is all it takes to make sure you’re not silently in the 40% that underperforms. [12][1][2]❓ Frequently Asked Questions
What is the APRA performance test?
APRA’s annual superannuation performance test measures whether funds delivered competitive returns after fees over an 8-year period. Products underperforming APRA’s benchmark by more than 0.5 percentage points per year fail. [1][4]Which products failed in 2025?
7 platform trustee-directed products (3 first-time, 4 repeat fails). All MySuper (52/52) and non-platform TDPs (374/374) passed. Full list at apra.gov.au. [1][2][9]How much can a bad fund cost me?
A 0.5% annual gap = ~$100,000 less at retirement. Dud choice and retirement options can leave retirees $57,000–$205,000 worse off than stronger products. [5][6][7][8]How do I check my fund?
Find your exact fund and investment option name on your statement → check APRA’s test results and CPPP dashboards → use the ATO’s YourSuper comparison tool for MySuper products. [1][12][17]What if my fund fails?
Your trustee must notify you. Two years of fails = closed to new members. But you won’t be moved automatically — you need to act. Check insurance before switching. [9][4]⚖️ The Fine Print Verdict
APRA’s performance test has done exactly what it was designed to do in the MySuper segment — the worst default funds have been closed or forced to improve, and the 1 million members who were in failing products in 2021 has shrunk to 8,500. That’s a genuine win for Australian workers. But the job isn’t finished. The platform choice segment — where millions of Australians sit in options recommended by employers or advisers — still has more than 40% of products with long track records significantly underperforming. The test catches the absolute worst; APRA’s CPPP dashboards are trying to make the chronic-but-not-quite-failing underperformers visible too. The other new risk is the opposite problem: members being pulled out of good funds into higher-fee structures via marketing. The bottom line is simple — super is your largest financial asset after your home, and it deserves one check per year. APRA has done the homework. You just need to look at it.
👉 Find your exact investment option name today, look it up in APRA’s 2025 test results and CPPP dashboard, and if it’s underperforming — act, don’t file the letter.
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- APRA, “APRA releases 2025 superannuation performance test results and product data,” apra.gov.au (2025)
- APRA, “2025 annual superannuation performance test — accessible version of dashboards,” apra.gov.au (2025)
- SuperGuide, “Super funds underperformance,” superguide.com.au/super-booster/super-funds-underperformance
- APRA, “Annual superannuation performance test,” apra.gov.au/annual-superannuation-performance-test
- Super Consumers Australia, submission to APRA (November 2023), apra.gov.au/sites/default/files/2024-03/Submission-Super-Consumers-Australia-November-2023_0.pdf
- Investment Markets, “Thinking of switching your super fund — here’s what to check first,” investmentmarkets.com.au
- ABC News, “Super Consumers performance warning: retirees after retirement,” abc.net.au (19 November 2025)
- Super Consumers Australia, “Securing Australia’s retirement: performance of retirement options research report,” superconsumers.com.au (November 2025)
- APRA, “2025 annual superannuation performance test — trustee-directed products,” apra.gov.au
- Money Management, “APRA’s latest test reveals positive trends in super,” moneymanagement.com.au
- Super Review, “7 trustee-directed products fail superannuation performance test,” superreview.com.au
- APRA, “Comprehensive Product Performance Package insights paper 2025,” apra.gov.au
- APRA, “APRA releases 2024 superannuation performance test results,” apra.gov.au (2024)
- Treasury, “Performance test redesign consultation paper,” treasury.gov.au (2024)
- Super Members Council, “Member Super Switching report,” smcaustralia.com (February 2026)
This article is general information only and does not constitute financial advice. Super fund performance is one factor in choosing a fund — also consider insurance cover, investment options, fees and your personal circumstances. Consult a licensed financial adviser before switching. Information is based on APRA official test results, Super Consumers Australia research and Super Members Council data, current as at June 2026. The Fine Print 🇦🇺 is not affiliated with APRA or any fund mentioned.