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Australian Retirement Trust vs Super SA

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

Australian Retirement Trust

Industry fund

Australian Retirement Trust's Super Savings product offers an age-based default, actively managed and indexed investments, and both flexible retirement income and a lifetime pension pathway.

Membership

Super Savings is ART's public offer product. Business, Corporate and QSuper accounts have their own conditions; identify your exact account before comparing prices or cover.

Super SA

Restricted public sector fund

Super SA provides South Australian public sector schemes with different tax rules, including Triple S and Super SA Select.

Membership

Eligibility depends on SA public sector employment or an eligible existing-member relationship. Some spouses can join Triple S. Limited access to Select continues for qualifying members working outside the SA Government.

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

Australian Retirement Trust and Super SA: product features and conditions
What to compareAustralian Retirement TrustSuper SA
Membership and access

Super Savings is ART's public offer product. Business, Corporate and QSuper accounts have their own conditions; identify your exact account before comparing prices or cover.

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Eligibility depends on SA public sector employment or an eligible existing-member relationship. Some spouses can join Triple S. Limited access to Select continues for qualifying members working outside the SA Government.

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Accounts and products

Super Savings public offer product. QSuper and employer-specific arrangements need separate comparison.

Super Savings Accumulation

Super Savings Retirement Income

Transition to Retirement Income

Lifetime Pension through QSuper

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Triple S and Super SA Select. Closed defined benefit and retirement products need separate assessments.

Triple S

Super SA Select

Flexible Rollover Product

Super SA Income Stream

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Investment choices

Super Savings Lifecycle Investment Strategy

The default Lifecycle strategy changes the investment mix with age. Members can instead select diversified active portfolios, diversified index portfolios, asset-class index options or an Unlisted Assets option. The index menu includes Australian shares and hedged and unhedged international shares, so the currency choice is explicit.

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Balanced for Triple S

Triple S has nine options, including indexed, diversified and Cash choices, on the current official product page. Select has its own menu.

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Insurance

Super Savings has an insurance guide and quotation tools. ART explicitly cautions that standard Super Savings insurance information may not apply to its Business or Corporate accounts. An employer plan's terms can therefore matter more than a generic fund description.

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Triple S provides eligible members with death, TPD and income protection. Select members retain their insurance through Triple S.

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Retirement income

A Retirement Income account lets eligible members set payments and make withdrawals. Lifetime Pension is a separate product offered through QSuper and pays income for life, with payments adjusted each year. The purchase becomes permanent after the cooling-off period, so it requires a different comparison from an ordinary account-based pension.

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This detail has not been verified for this profile. Check the current product documents.

Advice and support

Use ART's product-specific support when comparing a Super Savings, QSuper or employer account, and ask for the scope and cost of any personal advice before engaging an adviser. This research does not verify a universal advice entitlement across all ART account types.

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This detail has not been verified for this profile. Check the current product documents.

Fee details to check

Investment fees vary substantially between active portfolios, index options and Unlisted Assets. ART describes investment and transaction costs as estimates that can change each year. Add the administration charges for the exact account and any insurance rather than treating an investment-fee percentage as the total cost.

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This detail has not been verified for this profile. Check the current product documents.

Comparing investment performance

ART's accumulation option returns are net of investment fees, transaction costs and investment tax. Lifecycle is a strategy spread across age-dependent pools, not one return applicable to all ages. Pension returns and Super Savings versus QSuper returns require separate labels.

Select the same age or age cohort when comparing Lifecycle options.

Separate Super Savings from QSuper rather than counting them as unrelated funds or treating them as identical products.

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Separate Triple S from Select and avoid comparing pre-tax and after-tax balances as if they were equivalent.

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Former names and account history

Sunsuper: Merged with QSuper to form Australian Retirement Trust on 28 February 2022.

QSuper: Merged with Sunsuper in February 2022; QSuper remains a distinct account and investment offering within ART.

Qantas Super: Qantas Group Superannuation Plan completed its transfer to ART on 29 March 2025; heritage plan divisions remain relevant.

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This detail has not been verified for this profile. Check the current product documents.

THE SUPERGURU VIEW

Our take on Australian Retirement Trust

Editorial assessment

The strongest reason to examine Super Savings is the range of ways to invest without leaving the fund. It suits a comparison between an automatic age-based strategy and a deliberate index portfolio. Retirement choice is also useful, but the flexibility of an income account and the commitment involved in Lifetime Pension solve different problems.

Who might put it on their shortlist

  • People who want their default investment mix to change with age.
  • Members comparing active and indexed portfolios within one account.
  • Retirees considering a combination of accessible savings and lifetime income.

What deserves a closer look

  • An age-based strategy does not know about assets, debts or a partner's super outside the account.
  • Unlisted Assets has different liquidity and valuation characteristics from a listed-share index option.
  • Do not use QSuper statistics or employer-plan insurance terms as if they described a standard Super Savings account.
  • Lifetime Pension payments can change and the purchase is permanent after cooling-off.

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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 Super SA

Editorial assessment

Tax timing is central to this comparison. Triple S can show a balance that still contains tax payable when money leaves. Compare the spendable retirement outcome, including any rollover tax, alongside fees and investments.

Who might put it on their shortlist

  • Eligible SA Government employees choosing between their available schemes.
  • Existing members checking how contributions work after leaving the public sector.

What deserves a closer look

  • Triple S is tax-deferred, not tax-free.
  • Moving untaxed money to Select or another taxed fund can trigger tax at transfer.

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

Before choosing between Australian Retirement Trust and Super SA

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 Australian Retirement Trust profile · Read the full Super SA profile · Choose another comparison