We’re witnessing a historic democratisation of data and AI capability. So says Zilinka Jiang in our latest instalment of Investment Ideas. In Digitisation, Zilinka sits down with hosts Jan Swinhoe and Douglas Isles to discuss the transformative potential of AI. Key areas discussed include: Practical applications in business, including how Telstra has improved customer service […]

As nations continue to respond to crises by taking on more debt, are we kicking the can down the road on global debt sustainability? In the second episode of Investment Ideas, Debt, Douglas Isles sits down with Simon Warner, Head of Portfolio Management at Aware Super, to explore how investors should think about debt sustainability […]

Does your superannuation or wealth management projection model allow for negative auto-correlations of share investment performance? Given their presence in the actual historical share data and their related impact on confidence intervals and on durations of cumulative positive and negative performance, the authors suggest that they should be allowed for.

For 20 years now, the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) has been publishing a breakdown of the annual budget for a ‘comfortable’ or ‘modest’ retirement and the estimated super balance required to achieve it. This standard is widely used by super funds as a guide for their members and by commentators more generally. But with the retirement landscape changing significantly in recent years, new retirement income products are emerging. In this article, we explore whether the new ‘lifetime’ income products can achieve the same comfortable retirement with less money.

Recent developments in superannuation and retirement income legislation are expected to provide plenty of opportunities for aspiring actuaries to shape the future of the Australian superannuation system and make positive impacts on retirement for various different generations. The Superannuation and Retirement Applications (SRA) subject offers members the opportunity to learn about the current and potential […]

As of 30 June 2024, the Australian superannuation industry holds $3.9 trillion in total assets. Self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) make up over a quarter of these assets – $990 billion to be exact – demonstrating steady growth with more than 625,000 funds in operation.

This article summarises findings from our recently published Paper that reviews risks faced in the decumulation phase, and considers the problem of finding a more optimal strategy for the decumulation of retirement savings.

In this article, Cary Helenius uses the Austmod 65-year investment history to compare Group Self-Annuities (GSAs) versus Individual Drawdowns in achieving 30-year CPI indexed payment streams in high inflation environments that persisted in the 1970s and 1980s. This is the second article[1] using the 65-years from June 1959 to June 2024 of the Austmod database […]

In this article, Colin Grenfell from the Institute’s Superannuation Projections and Disclosure (SPD) Subcommittee highlights the requirements of sections 5.3 and 5.4 of Professional Guidance 499.02 (PG 499.02) relating to disclosing deflators used in retirement benefit projections. The Institute’s Professional Practice Guideline 499.02 applies: “… to any Member advising a Client or other party in […]

It has been three years since the Your Future, Your Super legislation came into effect, 1 July 2021. At the time of introduction, there was the expectation of impacts on insurance in super. We have summarised the activity over the three years, including implementation, government and industry response, and early observations.

How have different investment sectors fared against inflation over the past 65-years and what strategies produce the best results for long term CPI indexed income streams? Using Austmod’s 65-year investment history, this article illustrates how investment sectors performed against “targeted gaps” over Consumer Price Index (CPI), and the success rate of different investment strategies in […]

The term‘life expectancy‘should be treated with care when it comes to financial planning, especially if you’re estimating how long an individual’s superannuation and savings need to last. The Encyclopaedia Britannica website explains that life expectancy is:“an estimate of the average number of additional years that a person of a given age can […]

The opinions expressed within this article are solely the author’s and do not reflect the opinions and beliefs of the website or its affiliates. The information in this article is for general information only. It should not be taken as constituting financial advice. The Government should do as much as possible to help younger people […]

Concept Notes serve as a bridge between the technical complexities of actuarial work and public policy, aiming to enhance comprehension and contribute to better policy outcomes. Income Protection (IP) offsets play a crucial role in managing insurance premiums and benefit payments within superannuation funds, ensuring the sustainability[1] of the IP cover. However, while IP offsets […]

This article explores how retirement spending may change for individuals as they progress through retirement, and the impact of choosing an appropriate level of indexation on their retirement income could have on their required level of retirement savings. One of the fundamental elements that is often overlooked when helping individuals plan for their retirement is […]

In the last of three articles, authors Colin Grenfell and Cary Helenius illustrate trends in long-term share market investment performance auto-correlations based on data over both 124 and 64 years, highlighting the presence of negative auto-correlations in both datasets. In this article, we examine whether the negative auto-correlations that strongly featured in 64-year historical data […]

Legacy products are those that are no longer sold but are costly to administer and can offer poor value to customers who may be stuck in them. I am currently working on an UNSW research project on why lifetime annuities are not being sold. While interviewing a group of experts, the recurring issue of legacy

Retirement is a highly emotive, often stressful transition that involves a set of lifestyle choices, many of which have a financial dimension. Australia’s superannuation system serves as a critical pillar for ensuring financial security during retirement. Superannuation funds have a recently legislated obligation to build strategies to better assist their members entering retirement. Many funds […]

Using superannuation to replace your salary when you retire is not easy under a ‘lump sum’ retirement system. Spend too much and your savings will run out. Spend too little and you’ll forfeit the lifestyle you’ve worked hard to achieve. The balance needs to be ‘just right’ and include techniques that take uncertainty into account. […]

Whether as financial experts or as superannuation members, pretty much everyone wants a fair and effective superannuation system. A number of us from the Retirement Strategy Group (RSG) are currently working on applying the Actuaries Institute’s superannuation policy positions as part of an ongoing effort to contribute. In this article, I explore some novel possibilities arising […]