Retirement Digital Conference 2020

Retirement is a recent phenomenon in history and has acquired several preconceptions around a typical experience. This thought-provoking session explores the reality of ageing in the 21st century and the contemporary needs of members. After this session the question has to be asked, what will we call this conference next year?

Participant: Paul Gordon, Co Author Spenditude, Principal Aon’s smartMonday

Facilitator: Alex Proimos, head of institutional content, Investment Magazine

Length: 23 mins

How to ensure a happy retirement for all Australians? How can we predict people who will age happily? This session will dispel certain myths and draw on research from the Blue Zones, a Harvard longitudinal study and the works of Ellen Langer and George Vaillant. The conversation will traverse topics spanning mental health, diet and exercise, alcoholism and the impact of community and purpose. 

Speakers: Nicolette Rubinsztein, director, SuperEd; UniSuper; OnePath Insurance; Zurich Australia

Facilitator: Laurence Parker-Brown, institutional content producer, Conexus Financial

Length: 26 mins

Dispersion of opinion remains alive and well on the topic of how best to approach accumulation vs decumulation investing, but how different are these two regimes in reality? What does a decumulation investment process look like?  Furthermore, what does a decumulation process look like in a defined contribution regime, and in a guaranteed regime?  What are the perils, the assumptions, and the impossibilities, all of which need to be balanced? This is a practitioner’s discussion on the realities of running a portfolio with structural decumulation.

Speakers: Charles Wu, deputy chief investment officer and general manager DC investments, State Super, Chris Plater, chief executive and chief investment officer, Life, Challenger and Jacki Ellis, portfolio manager retirement strategies, First State Super

Moderator: David Bell, executive director, The Conexus Institute

Length: 33 mins

What does the 'average' retiree look like? What experiences does the 'average' retirement provide? What's the 'average' return needed to fund an 'average' retirement? How long does the 'average' retiree live? What is the reality of planning for the average? This session discusses individualised retirement advice and appropriate strategies.

Speaker: Jacqui Lennon, head of product and customer experience, Allianz Retire+

Facilitator: Matt Smith, director of retail content, Conexus Financial

Length: 30 mins

Australia has a world class accumulation superannuation system but with considerable imbalance across gender, employment type and education. Drawing from superannuation funds, professional advisors and consultants, this session will explore what can be done to promote education, adoption of good habits and sharing of knowledge so there is dignity in retirement for all Australians.

Speakers: Lara Bourguignon, managing director superannuation, retirement & platforms, AMP and Liz Hughes, financial adviser, Wealthspring Financial 

Moderator: Laurence Parker-Brown, institutional content producer, Conexus Financial

Length: 30 mins

Superannuation is a key part of retirement incomes policy – but just one part. This session looks at the purposes of the system. What does an “adequate” retirement income mean? Is the Australian system delivering enough income in retirement, and will it be able to do so in future? In the light of early access to retirement, we must even ask the question, are superannuation contributions still appropriate in the short run?

Speakers: John Daley, chief executive, Grattan Institute and David Knox, senior partner, senior actuary, Mercer

Moderator: Alex Proimos, head of institutional content, Investment Magazine

Length: 45 mins

This conversation covers some examples of the techniques deployed for thinking about decumulation using data from Hong Kong, Singapore and France.

Speaker: Raphael Sobotka, global head of flexible, risk premia and retirement solutions, Amundi 

Moderator: Alex Proimos, head of institutional content, Investment Magazine

Length: 11 mins

The global macroeconomic environment is different from a generation ago. With cash rates close to zero, and debt instruments diminishing in both yield and defensive characteristics, it is becoming harder than ever to construct income portfolios for retirees. This first quarter of 2020 has seen market volatility and further unorthodox central bank behaviour as the world chooses to shutdown output to contain coronavirus. This session considers both the scope of the challenge for investors and the potential opportunities that exist to navigate this temporary health problem.

Speaker: Jason Brady, chief executive officer, Thornburg Investment Management

Moderator: Alex Proimos, head of institutional content, Investment Magazine

Length: 20 mins

The Productivity Commission has started the journey to understanding how the superannuation system can deliver sustainable retirement incomes. This session looks at how to deliver clear objectives that cater to diverse circumstances of retirees, especially as the economy and financial markets experience extreme strain. The session considers the immediate challenges with unemployment, early access to super and the advice gap as anxieties mount.

Speakers: Nick Callil, head of retirement solutions, Australia, Willis Towers Watson and Dante De Gori, chief executive, Financial Planning Association

Moderator: Matt Smith, director of retail content, Conexus Financial 

Length: 42 mins