Retirement income products need to be flexible and certain

Retirement income products need to be flexible and certain and most of the solutions in the market will not cater for the “tsunami” of people looking to retire over the next decade, according to Aberdeen Standard Investments (ASI).

Speaking to Super Review, ASI Australian head of retirement and product strategy, Jason Nyilas said he was concerned that superannuation funds and product providers had not designed enough retirement income products and the ones available were not similar in approach.

“Some are enterprise based, some are retail based, lifetime may or may not be a focus, and some even include reverse mortgages,” he said.

“There are so many different shapes and sizes if makes it difficult for advisers to understand and select something that best fit their clients’ needs.”

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Nyilas said ASI was looking to simplifying the product side through engagement between members and advisers to complete the “dialogue and journey to understand how to create flexible solutions”.

“My concern is that all solutions are not flexible or certain enough. But if you combine the two you can achieve a product that is flexible, gives high income, and has features in place to guarantee you income,” Nyilas said.

“That’s not an easy ask for a product provider because it requires a lot of sophistication but it is what the ask is.”

Nyilas noted that an important component of this was affordable advice and said technology would be key.

He said ASI was looking to develop a ‘bionic’ product that combined digital data gathering and face-to-face advice to reduce advice cost by the end of the year.