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AMP Super vs MLC

Compare what each fund offers, then choose investment options to put their published costs and returns side by side.

By SuperGuru Group · Research checked 11 September 2026 · Historical APRA figures to 30 June 2026

AMP Super

Retail fund

AMP Super combines SignatureSuper's age-based MySuper options with investment choice, digital advice and retirement products. Its Lifetime Boost feature needs more explanation than a simple benefits tick.

Membership

Check the SignatureSuper PDS and any employer plan's terms. Restricted employer MySuper arrangements should not be treated as the same product as the standard SignatureSuper MySuper offer.

MLC

Retail fund

MLC's MasterKey range includes employer, personal and Super & Pension Fundamentals accounts. The investment and insurance terms depend on which product you hold.

Membership

MasterKey Super Fundamentals is designed for individual members. Business Super is arranged through employers, and employer discounts or insurance subsidies can affect the comparison.

Compare fees and investment returns

Choose the actual investment pathway for each account. For lifecycle products, select the named stage relevant to you. No stage is selected automatically.

Choose an investment option to see the figures

The costs and returns belong to the selected product, option or lifecycle stage.

Source: APRA Comprehensive Product Performance Package 2026, published 28 August 2026. Fees reflect the reporting year to 30 June 2026, are net of tax, use standard arrangements and exclude member-activity fees. Dollar figures are rounded. They are not a current quote. Check the latest PDS for changes, insurance premiums and any separately charged advice.

Returns are annualised historical results. Different return bases, risk levels and periods cannot be treated as interchangeable. MySuper net returns use a $50,000 representative balance even when you change the fee balance. A lifecycle stage return does not track a person moving between stages. Missing figures mean not reported, not zero. Past returns do not predict future returns. Read our method and APRA's definitions.

How the products differ

AMP Super and MLC: product features and conditions
What to compareAMP SuperMLC
Membership and access

Check the SignatureSuper PDS and any employer plan's terms. Restricted employer MySuper arrangements should not be treated as the same product as the standard SignatureSuper MySuper offer.

Sources3

MasterKey Super Fundamentals is designed for individual members. Business Super is arranged through employers, and employer discounts or insurance subsidies can affect the comparison.

Sources24
Accounts and products

SignatureSuper in AMP Super Fund. MyNorth is a separate platform and legal super fund.

SignatureSuper

AMP MySuper Lifestages

AMP Flexible Retirement Income

AMP Lifetime Retirement Income

Sources6

MLC MasterKey products in MLC Super Fund. Expand, Plum and NAB-specific plans are separate product propositions.

MLC MasterKey Business Super

MLC MasterKey Personal Super

MLC MasterKey Super and Pension Fundamentals

MLC MySuper

Sources17
Investment choices

AMP MySuper Lifestages

AMP's MySuper strategy allocates members by date of birth and gradually changes the growth and defensive mix. SignatureSuper also offers investment choice, including index-style, multi-manager and single-manager approaches, subject to the current menu.

Sources12

MLC MySuper for eligible MasterKey Business and Personal Super members; check the selected investment in Fundamentals.

MasterKey Super Fundamentals offers ready-made choices, lower-cost and socially responsible portfolios, plus asset-class options for a member-built portfolio. MLC MySuper invests across mainstream asset classes with some private and alternative assets and uses active and passive managers.

Sources23
Insurance

Use the insurance guide for your SignatureSuper membership or employer plan. Insurance fees depend on the cover held; the presence of an AMP account does not establish the level of cover or that an application would be accepted.

Sources3

The insurance offer differs between Business, Personal and Fundamentals accounts. Business and Personal Super can include both an insurer premium and an insurance administration fee; Fundamentals insurance charges consist of the insurer premium. Check the applicable guide rather than assuming all MLC insurance is priced the same way.

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Retirement income

AMP offers a flexible allocated-pension product and a separate Lifetime Retirement Income product. Lifetime Boost in accumulation only produces its intended retirement benefit if the member later takes the AMP lifetime-income product. It is not an immediate cash bonus paid into the account.

Sources56

MasterKey Pension Fundamentals provides account-based and transition-to-retirement pension pathways. A member can assess the pension menu as part of planning a move into retirement, but the pension fee schedule must be checked separately.

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Advice and support

Eligible AMP Super members can access Digital Financial Advice through My AMP at no extra fee. It has an eligibility and service scope; more complex planning should be compared separately from the digital service.

Sources4

Members can use MLC without a financial adviser. If they engage an adviser, fees for super-related advice may be deducted with consent and subject to product rules. Advice fees should be included in the overall cost of an advised arrangement.

Sources4
Fee details to check

Identify the product, selected option and employer arrangement before comparing charges. Costs can include administration, investment and transaction costs, insurance and personal advice. North's menu-based fees should not be substituted for SignatureSuper's charges.

Sources3

An employer may have negotiated reduced fees, shown in the plan's Features At A Glance document. Changes from 1 April 2026 removed the insurance-fee cap for affected Business and Personal Super members and reduced the cap on the percentage administration fee. These are distinct changes: lower administration fees do not necessarily mean a lower total cost for an insured member.

Sources45
Comparing investment performance

MySuper Lifestage returns belong to birth cohorts and their changing investment mix. Compare the same cohort or age and common end date. An option's short-term return is not evidence that every SignatureSuper member received the same result.

Keep AMP Super and MyNorth separate.

Explain the MySuper-to-Choice change and conditional nature of Lifetime Boost before presenting it as a benefit.

Sources1

Compare the exact MySuper portfolio or chosen MasterKey investment. Age and product matter, and a return from one underlying fund is not the return from an entire member account after every administration, insurance and advice charge.

Show the MasterKey product name and employer discount assumptions.

Separate insurance premium, insurance administration charge and adviser fee where relevant.

Sources1234567

THE SUPERGURU VIEW

Our take on AMP Super

Editorial assessment

AMP has a more involved retirement proposition than a simple accumulation account. That may interest someone planning how super and the Age Pension could work together, but the value rests on the conditions and the eventual retirement product. The Lifetime label needs careful reading before it becomes a reason to choose the fund.

Who might put it on their shortlist

  • People who want an age-based super strategy and access to digital advice.
  • Members examining their employer's SignatureSuper terms.
  • People willing to investigate a lifetime-income product as part of retirement planning.

What deserves a closer look

  • Activating Lifetime Boost permanently changes the account from MySuper to Choice. AMP notes that MySuper has additional legal protections, even though activation itself does not change current fees, insurance or investments.
  • Lifetime Boost's benefit is only realised if the member takes the relevant AMP Lifetime Retirement Income product.
  • Eligibility excludes certain ages and account circumstances, including defined-benefit and TTR arrangements.
  • Compare the lifetime-income product's access, payment and beneficiary rules with an ordinary allocated pension.

Sources5

Based on the cited product features. These are general reasons to investigate the fund, not a personal recommendation. Supporting sources.

THE SUPERGURU VIEW

Our take on MLC

Editorial assessment

MLC deserves an account-level review rather than a verdict based on the brand. The breadth of investments can help someone with a deliberate portfolio, while a workplace subsidy may change the price materially. For current members, the 2026 insurance-fee-cap change is a practical reason to check the statement.

Who might put it on their shortlist

  • Employees assessing negotiated MasterKey plan benefits.
  • People who want access to multiple investment managers through a super product.
  • Members using an adviser and willing to compare the full product-plus-advice cost.

What deserves a closer look

  • The removal of an insurance-fee cap can increase charges for affected members even where the administration cap falls.
  • A large investment menu is useful only if there is a reason for the investments selected.
  • MLC MasterKey, Plum and Expand must not inherit one another's fees, test outcomes or insurance terms.

Sources5

Based on the cited product features. These are general reasons to investigate the fund, not a personal recommendation. Supporting sources.

Before choosing between AMP Super and MLC

Use the membership rules to establish which accounts are available to you. Then compare the total price of the investment option and cover you need. A lower fee or higher historical return alone does not tell you which fund is suitable.

Ask both funds to confirm insurance acceptance, exclusions, waiting periods and whether cover would change when you leave your employer. Obtain advice before giving up a defined benefit or an insurance policy you may not be able to replace. ASIC Moneysmart explains the comparison checks.

Read the full AMP Super profile · Read the full MLC profile · Choose another comparison