Risk Day 2019 tackles ageing and retirement incomes

Michael Rice, CEO of Rice Warner discussed the changing role of the age pension in retirement and ways that adjustments to government policy and superannuation can be used to enhance outcomes for more people.

Australian Government Actuary at the Commonwealth Treasury, Guy Thorburn, examined ways of managing risks for retirees, while David Knox, Senior Partner and Senior Actuary at Mercer, considered the changing needs of retirees and how both government and industry might respond.

Michael Sherris, Professor of Actuarial Studies, UNSW analysed the links between health status and functional disability with applications for life annuities and long-term care insurance.

A framework for analysing superannuation fund member outcomes in retirement was examined by Craig McCulloch, principal at Milliman, while Professor Piet de Jong, Macquarie University, explored the concept of super bonds as a means of managing mortality risk that could also solve the longevity funding crisis.

Kevin O’Sullivan, chief executive officer of UniSuper Management gave a considered and comprehensive perspective on running a large industry super fund, and the ways UniSuper meets the needs of its distinct but diverse membership base.

The conference, held on Friday 29 March, was opened by the Vice-Chancellor of Macquarie University, Professor S Bruce Dowton, and the co-directors of the Centre for Financial Risk, Professors Jeffrey Sheen, Pavel Shevchenko and Stefan Trueck.

The engaged audience showed strong interest in the innovative approaches by industry and university researchers to meet future retirement income requirements during both the formal sessions and more informally during the breaks.

The conference, in its ninth year, provided an important platform for novel approaches to dealing with serious and growing problems faced by governments, superannuation funds, the financial services industry and individuals grappling with ways to ensure stable and decent incomes in retirement.

Photos - Nick James Fraser.