The Fine Print Australia · PUBLISHED 24 JUN 2026 · VERIFIED 24 JUN 2026 · AU EDITION

Only MySuper Shows: What the YourSuper Comparison Tool Hides

▶

The YourSuper Comparison Tool can make a fund look “cheap” or “strong” while hiding the fact that it only compares MySuper products, so many Australians’ actual choice options never appear in the ranking table.

The number that matters

Around 60 MySuper products are compared in the ATO’s YourSuper tool, which means the tool covers only a slice of the super market rather than all available fund options.

How it quietly costs you

The first hidden cost is selection bias: the tool only shows MySuper products, so anyone in a choice investment option cannot use it to compare their actual account against the full market. That matters because the tool can therefore nudge users toward a shortlist that excludes the investment structures they are actually in, even though MoneySmart says you should compare similar investment options to get a fair picture.

A second limitation is that the tool’s fee display is a single total figure, while SuperGuide notes it does not explain indirect fees versus fees deducted from your balance, which can make two products look more similar than they really are. The practical impact is a distorted comparison: the user sees a simple ranking, but not the fee architecture needed to judge whether the headline number is genuinely better.

The second, compounding trap

The second compounding problem is return comparison without asset-allocation context: SuperGuide notes the tool does not acknowledge differences in asset allocation between the products it displays. That means a higher ranked product may not actually be the better fit if it is taking more risk or using a different growth/income mix than the user’s existing option.

This can translate into long-run dollar damage because super outcomes are highly sensitive to fees and performance over decades. Vanguard cites the Productivity Commission’s estimate that for a full-time worker aged 21 starting on $50,000, paying an extra 0.5 percentage points in annual fees can reduce retirement balance by about 12%, or around $100,000. That estimate is a benchmark, not a direct measure of the tool’s error, but it shows how even small comparison mistakes can compound into six-figure losses.

What this looks like in practice

Mia, 34, office manager, $82,000 salary, $71,000 super balance, MySuper account, 31 years to retirement.

• Mia discovers her current fund is not actually “the same type” as what she was comparing, because the tool only lists MySuper products and leaves out choice options she may already be in.
• Mia discovers that a fee gap of just 0.5 percentage points can matter enormously over time; the Productivity Commission estimate cited by Vanguard says that difference can shave about 12% off final balance, or roughly $100,000 for a worker starting at $50,000.
• Mia discovers that the tool’s ranking can be misleading if she compares products with different asset mixes, because the ATO’s broader guidance says she should compare similar investment options rather than relying on one ranking table.

The full cost of doing nothing

For Mia, the combined risk is that a narrow product list plus incomplete fee/risk context leads her to choose a fund that is only superficially better, while small annual differences compound over decades. Using the Productivity Commission benchmark cited by Vanguard, a 0.5 percentage point annual-fee difference can cost about 12% of retirement balance, or around $100,000 on a $50,000 starting salary model; applied to Mia’s longer contribution horizon and higher balance, the implied lifetime cost could be materially larger, but that larger figure would need separate modelling beyond the cited benchmark.

What to do about it

• Check your actual product type in the ATO tool, not just the headline ranking. Use the ATO’s YourSuper comparison tool in ATO online services through myGov: go to Super → Information → YourSuper comparison.

• Sign in to myGov and open the ATO service.

• Find your current super account in the personalised view.

• Compare it against other MySuper products and note the net return and fee figures.

• Good looks like: your current MySuper option is being compared against similar MySuper peers, not against a different investment option type.

• Inspect the fee structure in the fund’s PDS after using the tool. MoneySmart says to check the product disclosure statement for fees and compare features such as performance, insurance, and investment options.

• Open the fund’s PDS from the product link in the ATO tool.

• Find the fee table and identify all ongoing charges.

• Compare those charges with the ATO tool’s single headline fee figure.

• Good looks like: you understand whether a fee is administration, investment, or another cost, not just the total.

• Compare similar investment options before switching. MoneySmart explicitly says to compare similar investment options and use the same timeframe for a fair picture.

• Identify whether your current option is balanced, conservative, growth, or another style.

• Compare only like-for-like options over the same period.

• Check whether the result still looks better after adjusting for risk and asset mix.

• Good looks like: the decision is based on comparable risk profiles, not just the tool’s ranking.

A myth worth clearing up

Myth: The YourSuper tool shows the best super fund for anyone. Fact: It only compares MySuper products, and MoneySmart says you should also compare fees, performance, insurance, and investment options, using similar options for a fair comparison.

Sources

• ATO
• ATO
• myGov
• MoneySmart

Researched 2026-06-24.

Corrections & disclosure: an AI-assisted, human-reviewed guide. Every figure is dated and sourced above. Spot something out of date or wrong? Tell us and we’ll correct it — corrections are noted here and in the video description.