The death of the corporate super fund

Australia's corporate super fund is almost extinct.

A corporate super fund is built around employees of a single employer or related corporate group. Before universal compulsory super, these employer-sponsored schemes were an important employment benefit, particularly for larger companies and white-collar workers. Many historically included defined-benefit arrangements, under which the employer carried some of the investment and funding risk.

But the model has steadily lost its economic rationale.

APRA's fund-level data show 12 corporate funds remained in June 2021. By June 2026 there was just one: the ANZ Australian Staff Superannuation Scheme, with around 27,500 accounts and $7.9 billion in member benefits.

The survivors disappeared through mergers and successor fund transfers. Commonwealth Bank Group Super transferred 63,700 members and $12.3 billion to Australian Retirement Trust in 2023. Qantas Super transferred around 25,000 members to ART in March 2025.

The fundamental problem is scale.

Modern super funds require substantial spending on investment capability, administration, technology, cyber security, regulation and member services. APRA estimates large funds can spread those costs much more effectively: administration and operating expenses averaged 0.33 per cent of assets for large funds compared with 0.57 per cent for small funds.

Employee choice has also weakened the old relationship between employer and super fund, while compulsory super has created enormous multi-employer funds capable of offering sophisticated investment and retirement services.

Corporate super once connected retirement savings closely to your employer.

Today, the economics increasingly favour connecting employees to a mega-fund instead.