Tech and policy the answer to retirement income woes
If the life and pensions sectors want to improve the retirement outcomes they offer, they need to do away with a mindset focused on legacy systems and risk management and instead embrace technology innovation and investment and advocate for progressive pensions policies.
This was the crux of a Bravura Solutions whitepaper, which found that technology could play a crucial role in mitigating issues such as a lack of knowledge and engagement from the public, recovering missing retirement savings, and making retirement savings appealing to Millennials.
The paper found that across the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, a more forward-looking approach was needed should the retirement income schemes of each country hope to combat the challenges of an ageing population.
While it praised the Australian superannuation system for its focus on SuperStream and driving operational efficiencies to lower fund fees and costs, it said investment in better digital platforms needed to continue maturing.
Retirement income policy would also need to advance to ensure adequate retirements for Australians, it argued, especially in combating issues such as unpaid superannuation and low super levels for those in the gig economy.
In terms of improving superannuation levels for the self-employed, for example, Bravura said that continuing discussions about the feasibility of working with payment technologies to automatically deduct a percentage of income from a bank account and directing it into a superannuation fund could be benefical.
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