MySuper: A Stage in an Evolutionary Process

Abstract

We interview Australian fund executives about how their organisations responded to MySuper, a regulatory framework for default retirement savings funds that providers were required to have in place by the beginning of 2014. In addition to providing an account of the influences on product design and how MySuper was perceived by the industry, we discuss how the superannuation industry is shifting its focus towards meeting the retirement needs of members who are assumed to be largely disengaged. We argue that MySuper has promoted change and innovation through separating out default members, thus providing a mechanism through which the needs of this particular group are explicitly addressed. Asset accumulation and relative returns appear to be relegated to secondary considerations, at least for fund executives.