Advancing the Retirement Phase of Superannuation
Australia is a world leader in policy design and practice around the accumulation of retirement savings but relatively little attention has been paid to the retirement phase.
Under the recently introduced retirement income covenant, superannuation trustees have an obligation to implement a retirement income strategy to help members maximise retirement income, manage risks to the sustainability and stability of that income, and maintain flexible access to capital. However, progress has been slow.
To contribute to the ongoing debate, UNSW’s Innovations in Risk, Insurance and Superannuation (IRIS) Knowledge Hub, Business Insights Institute and the Centre of Excellence in Population and Aging Research (CEPAR) hosted an event to discuss solutions and strategies to enhance policy design and practice in the retirement phase of superannuation.
Our keynote Professor Olivia S. Mitchell (IFEBP Professor of Insurance/Risk Mgmt and Business Economics/Policy, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania) is one of the world’s foremost pension economists and presented on Understanding and Managing Longevity Risk in Retirement. This was followed by a panel discussion featuring thought leaders in superannuation who considered How to Improve the Retirement Phase of Superannuation. Our panellists included Hazel Bateman (School of Risk & Actuarial Studies, UNSW Business School; IRIS Research Hub; CEPAR), David Bell (Executive Director, The Conexus Institute), David Knox (Senior Partner, Mercer) and Dani Murrie (Chief Marketing and Growth Officer, UniSuper). The program concluded with a Research Workshop featuring presentations by academics and representatives from the superannuation and financial services industry.
