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AI disruption and retirement income pressures top agenda at super leaders event
Australia’s superannuation leaders gathered in Melbourne on Thursday for a closed-door forum tackling the escalating impact of artificial intelligence and shifting retirement income models on the sector.
Super Review, in partnership with Wipro, GBST, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Newgen, hosted the high-level event at Wipro’s Collins Street offices, drawing senior executives from major funds and service providers for a morning of frank discussions on emerging risks, operational pressures, and global learnings.
The agenda centred on evolving retirement operating models, the strategic role of data and AI in superannuation, and the future of personalised, scalable retirement solutions.
A standout session came from Philip Smith, defined contribution director at TPT Retirement Solutions in the UK, who joined the event virtually to share lessons from the UK’s pension reforms and market shifts.
Smith said that TPT Retirement Solutions began its transformation journey three years ago, moving away from a fully outsourced back-office model to regain control over customer experience, improve operational efficiency, and drive member engagement, with a focus on enhancing digital processes, consolidating pension pots, and reducing costs to serve per member by 25 per cent over the next decade.
“The key thing for us was to take control of our member experience and to own our member portal,” said Smith.
“And so we began quite a lengthy, well, a quick but thorough RFP process to really look at the market and look at the best combination of solutions for us out there in the market.”
Smith’s commentary on modernising retirement income models while managing operational cost pressures struck a chord with the local audience as Australian funds respond to intensifying regulatory scrutiny.
Brian Peters, CEO of IQ Group, followed with an analysis of how data is increasingly shaping super fund strategies as they transition from accumulation to retirement income, warning that funds failing to build robust data frameworks risk falling behind on member outcomes.
Peters particularly highlighted the need for funds to move beyond building retirement solutions for Boomers and start designing for the next cohort, recognising that future retirees will expect more dynamic, digital, and conversational engagement rather than static, product-led models.
The forum’s final panel, chaired by Paul Sherlock, Wipro’s head of data & AI, tackled the global AI arms race.
Jasjit Singh Kang, Wipro’s global head of business process services, and Kartik Jayaraman, general manager for APMEA, unpacked how financial services organisations globally are responding to the AI wave.
The morning wrapped with a private networking lunch, where leaders compared notes on strategy, partnership models, and regulatory pressures.
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