Anh and Susan have been married for more than thirty years. They both retired five years ago after Anh turned 60. Susan was 61. They both held professional careers but looked forward to retirement.

Financially, Susan and Anh have always been quite comfortable. They don't have children and own an investment property which is rented out full time. Both have earned super for a large part of their working lives so when it came time to prepare for retirement, they spoke with their Industry SuperFund's financial planner about how to maximise their income in retirement.

With an investment property worth around $500,000 and super balances of $350,000 and $450,000, they wouldn't have access to the Government Age Pension. However, a combination of the rental returns and regular income from their super funds via income streams would be a sensible option. That way, they would receive regular payments and the balances of their Industry SuperFund would continue to grow during the early years of retirement before they gradually draw down on all of it.

Susan and Anh wanted flexibility and control of their money so they could take extra out from time to time if they needed, which their Industry SuperFund income stream was able to provide for them.

Taking their financial planner's advice and sticking with their Industry SuperFunds would also mean their balances grew by more than if they had switched to a retail fund.

Here's what that looked like:

• When they retired, Susan's super balance was $350,000 and Anh's super balance was $450,000. They converted their super accounts into income stream accounts with their Industry SuperFunds.
• When they retired, their investment property was worth around $500,000 with an annual income of on average around $26,282.
• Over the past five years they withdrew a combined amount of on average around $41,251 each year from their Industry SuperFund income stream accounts.
• Susan and Anh experienced an average five year Industry SuperFund investment return of 6.91% (2018 - 2023).
• Over the past 5 years their balances have grown to $381,003 and $490,011 respectively.
• If they had switched to a retail super fund at retirement, their balances would only be $357,575 and $459,837 respectively.

That’s a difference of $53,602 after five years, simply because they stuck with their Industry SuperFunds.

Susan and Anh's numbers

Susan and Anh are not actual members. Their stories have been created for illustrative purposes.

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance and should never be the sole factor considered when selecting a fund. Comparisons and modelling by SuperRatings, commissioned by ISA, and show average difference in pension net benefit results after the first 5 years of retirement of the main balanced investment options of 8 Industry SuperFund^# pension products and a sample set of retail pension products tracked by SuperRatings with a 5 year performance history to 30 June 2023 (23 funds), taking into account historical earnings and fees. The model assumes a drawdown amount of 5% per annum, which is deducted monthly. Outcomes vary between individual funds. Modelling performed on 6 October 2023 using data as at 30 June 2023. See the Assumptions page for more details about modelling calculations and assumptions. General advice only. Consider a fund's Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and your personal financial situation, needs and objectives, which are not accounted for in this information, before making an investment decision. ISA Pty Ltd ABN 72 158 563 270 Corporate Authorised Representative No. 426006 of Industry Fund Services Ltd ABN 54 007 016 195 AFSL 232514.
# Note that since the date of the comparative modelling the number of funds qualifying as Industry SuperFunds has changed from 8 to 7. This change does not reduce any comparative differential shown in the modelling. Revised modelling will be undertaken in the near future.