Essential Super — superannuation fund performance
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Essential Super reported A$6.6bn of total assets for 137,523 member accounts (average balance A$47k) in APRA's fund-level statistics for the year to 30 June 2025, with a one-year rate of return of 12.1%.
| Total assets | A$6.6bn |
| Member accounts | 137,523 |
| Average member balance | A$47k |
| 1-year rate of return | 12.1% |
| 5-year rate of return (annualised) | 9.6% |
| 10-year rate of return (annualised) | 6.5% |
| Investment options offered | — |
What running the fund costs
An expense ratio is the running cost per dollar of savings — 0.5% means 50 cents per A$100 of assets each year. These are the fund's own figures for its reporting year ended 30 June 2025: Payments to related parties — companies connected to the fund's own trustee or owner group — came to A$9.4m, equal to roughly 61.5% of its administration bill (a related-party payment is disclosed, not improper — but it is worth knowing who the fund pays).
| Operating expense ratio | 0.2% |
| Investment expense ratio | 0.0% |
| Administration and operating expenses | A$15.4m |
| Marketing spend | A$1.4m (about A$10 per member account) |
| Executive remuneration (expensed to the fund) | A$30k |
| Director remuneration | A$51k |
| Payments to related parties | A$9.4m |
The annual performance test
Every year the regulator tests most super products against a benchmark portfolio — fail twice and the product must close to new members. As at 30 June 2024, 5 of this fund's products and options were tested, and every one of them passed:
| Product / option | Type | Test result | 10-yr return | Admin fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essential Super - MySuper | MySuper | Pass | — | 0.1% |
| Essential Super - Choice — Diversified Index option | Choice | Pass | 5.2% | 0.1% |
| Essential Super - Choice — High Growth Index option | Choice | Pass* | — | 0.1% |
| Essential Super - Choice — Thrive+ Sustainable Growth option | Choice | Pass* | — | 0.1% |
| Essential Super - Choice — Balanced Index Option | Choice | Pass* | — | 0.1% |
Does the insurance pay out?
Most super accounts carry insurance, paid from your balance. The admittance rate is the share of finalised claims the insurer accepted in the year to 30 June 2025 — the single best number for "does this cover actually pay". Over the year it collected A$15.3m in premiums and paid out A$11.0m in claims (claims paid in a year often relate to earlier years' cover, so this is a cash-flow picture, not a loss ratio).
| Cover type | Claims accepted (1-yr) | Claims paid | Premiums collected | Insurer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Life insurance (death cover) | 91.7% | A$4.5m | A$8.3m | AIA Australia |
| Total & permanent disability (TPD) | 61.7% | A$6.5m | A$7.0m | AIA Australia |
| Income protection | — | — | A$15k | AIA Australia |
The gender gap in this fund
APRA last published fund-level member demographics for the year to 30 June 2022. In this fund, women's average balance was 27.5% lower than men's:
| Average balance — female members | A$24k |
| Average balance — male members | A$33k |
| Member accounts (female / male) | 57,643 / 73,482 |
See also: Australian super in numbers — marketing spend, expenses, the gender gap and two decades of consolidation across all APRA-regulated funds · all tracked plans.