Re-insurance of the longevity risk through a retirement offering which can provide better returns than those provided by traditional annuities is an important step toward the offering of broader retirement income solutions, according to the newly-launched Optimum Pensions.
Actuary and former Financial Synergy chair, David Orford has founded retirement product offering provider, Optimum Pensions which he said aimed to address longevity risk in retirement with an inflation-based income to maintain standards of living.
Optimum announced the launch of its Real Life Pensions offering in Melbourne yesterday, a white-label solution for super funds members to offer alongside other products.
“The combination of the Account Based Pension, a Real Lifetime Pension and the Age Pension can provide a person with a better level of income for their life rather than face the prospect of running out of their savings and mostly or only relying on the Age Pension,” Orford said.
“Today more than 50 percent of retirees live longer, creating a significant risk each pensioner’s retirement funds may run out before they die. Longevity risk is the least understood risk by most working Australians”.
Orford said key to addressing needs for retirement was the understanding that Australians would seek access to capital, but also the wanted to leave inheritance money for family members.
“Lifetime income streams will play a crucial role in achieving this goal,” he said.
“It is in Australia’s interest to ensure our world class superannuation savings system becomes a world-class retirement system.”
Prior to his 40-year stint as chair of Financial Synergy between 1976 and 2016, Orford was an actuary with Adriatic Life and Australian Eagle, and most recently held the position of chairman, retirement incomes with IRESS between November 2016 and September of this year.
