Jun 3, 2026 – 5.00amThe country’s biggest for-profit pension funds are crowding the market with products that game the age pension test to maximise the benefit for members, as they move to stem a flight of customers out of their traditional retirement funds and attract financial advisers to their big wealth platforms.Dubbed “innovative retirement income streams” and more widely known as IRIS products, Colonial First State will offer its first from August, building on a $21.5 billion market that includes competitors AMP and the Insignia-owned MLC.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Fetching latest articles
Big funds are gaming retirement rules to gain a competitive edge
A new class of product has emerged that takes advantage of the government’s aged pension rules to boost the earnings of members.
TL;DRAI
Colonial First State enters the $21.5B IRIS market in August, exploiting age pension rules to compete for wealth platform customers alongside AMP and MLC. The trend indicates pension funds using regulatory arbitrage to drive digital wealth consolidation and adviser adoption in retirement products.
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