Introducing a new generation of retirement solutions

CFS has announced the largest expansion of its retirement offerings to date, designed to make it easier for advisers to deliver whole-of-life retirement strategies in a single, integrated environment.

Developed in partnership with Challenger, Generation Life and BlackRock, this expansion brings together tax-effective investments, innovative retirement income solutions (IRIS), annuities and estate planning capabilities on FirstChoice and CFS Edge reducing complexity and enabling a more connected approach to retirement advice.

This marks a significant shift in how retirement solutions are designed and delivered in Australia – moving beyond product-led approaches to a whole of life model that better reflects how clients experience retirement today.

Retirement is no longer a single event—it is a long-term financial journey that requires different solutions over time.

CFS’s expanded offering recognises the growing complexity of retirement planning and responds with a more integrated approach designed to support flexibility, confidence and sustainable income over time.

This approach also reflects a broader industry challenge—while Australia’s system has been successful in supporting accumulation, there has been less progress in helping retirees convert savings into reliable, long-term income streams.

CFS is bringing together a comprehensive range of retirement solutions directly into FirstChoice and CFS Edge, creating a more seamless experience for advisers and clients.

Through these partnerships, advisers will have access to:

• Challenger’s complete product range – including newly launching IRIS guaranteed and market-linked pensions alongside fixed term, lifetime income, and aged care solutions.
• Generation Life’s investment linked IRIS and tax-effective investment bonds supported by BlackRock’s global investment capabilities.
• A broader mix of income, investment and estate planning tools, designed to be used together within a single platform environment.

Together, these capabilities enable a whole of portfolio approach – helping you align income, tax and wealth transfer decisions in a more integrated way.

The expanded offering is supported by new retirement modelling and digital capabilities, designed to improve both adviser efficiency and client outcomes.

These include:

• Integrated modelling tools that draw on multiple data sources to support more tailored retirement strategies
• Straight-through processing, reducing manual steps and improving delivery efficiency for advice strategies 
• This combination of broader solutions and improved tooling is intended to help advisers scale retirement advice more effectively, while maintaining a high level of personalisation.

This expansion is designed to give you a simpler, more integrated way to deliver retirement advice:

• Access a comprehensive range of retirement solutions through FirstChoice and CFS Edge, reducing the need to coordinate across multiple providers
• Build strategies that combine income, investments and estate planning into a single, cohesive approach
• Use integrated tools and streamlined processes to deliver advice more efficiently
• Provide clients with greater choice and flexibility in how they generate income, including combining annuities, pensions and tax-effective investments 
• Help clients move from accumulation into retirement with more structured, sustainable income strategies.

The rollout of new solutions begins in August 2026, starting with the introduction of the Retirement Income Optimiser on the FirstChoice platform.

A new Pension Bonus for eligible FirstChoice members will also be introduced as part of the initial roll out. 

Additional solutions will be progressively delivered across FirstChoice and CFS Edge over the next 12 months. We’ll continue to share the progress of this rollout with you and ensure you’re well prepared as each of the solutions becomes available.