That's the finding of new research into the super sector by advisory group Deloitte, which is predicting the rise of "mega funds" and hefty growth in industry funds over the next 40 years.
Industry funds, which are generally low-fee, backed by unions and operate on a not-for-profit basis, already account for about 46 per cent of assets under management.
However, industry fund growth has slowed against advisor-led super platforms and self-managed super funds in the 10 years to 2025, according to the corporate regulator.
Platform and self-managed super account benefits tripled to $396 billion, against two times growth in the traditional sector.
But industry funds are now projected to expand their share to 55 per cent by 2045, as the nation's overall super savings spike to $12.4 trillion, from $4 trillion now.
''Retail funds [including platforms] are stabilising after a period of decline, but growth is increasingly concentrated in adviser-led platforms rather than traditional master trusts," Deloitte actuarial consulting partner Andrew Boal said on Tuesday.
"SMSFs, while still significant, are projected to gradually decline as a proportion of the system, reflecting an ageing member base and increasing drawdowns."
At the same time, public-sector funds are also expected to shrink slightly as a share of the market, with corporate funds effectively disappearing as standalone entities.
The growth of mega funds, with more than $100 billion under management, is coming as more funds consolidate, according to Deloitte.
''We expect that there will be further rationalisation, with the few remaining corporate funds eventually moving into aligned public offer industry funds or retail master trusts," superannuation principal Diane Somerville said.
The research comes during a week of soul-searching for the industry after the Australian Securities and Investments Commission released a scathing report into the platform market.
On Monday, it put the sector on notice after conducting a 15-month review of six platform trustees entrusted with more than $300 billion in savings in 977,000 member accounts.
At the same time, industry body the Super Members Council made a submission to federal Treasury, which is consulting over fund protections following a scandal involving platform funds.
The council found a correlation between a surge in advice fees deducted from advisor-driven and SMSF accounts over the past two years and a spike in super switching.
Its analysis showed that total advice fees deducted from super accounts spiked by $1.1 billion between 2023 and 2025.
Some five super platforms accounted for $815 million of the fee surge.
All three reports come in the wake of the collapse of the First Guardian and Shield funds, which exposed hard-working Australians to highly speculative, illiquid assets and outright theft.
The fallout left almost 11,000 people $1.1 billion out of pocket, with many losing their entire savings.
