The worry is our ageing workforce and Australia’s looming ‘demographic fault line’ – the point at which more people are exiting the workforce than entering. Australia is set to cross this line in 2010. By then, the number of Australians aged 15-19 will increase by 19,000, whereas the number of those aged 65-69 will increase by 439,000.

According to Salt, certain Australian industries will feel the brunt of the boomer bulge a lot earlier than others – as will those super funds with a close alliance to these industries. Such funds include those with a high number of farmers and teachers, with 68 percent of beef cattle farmers aged over 50, along with 34 percent of secondary school teachers.

But all funds, says Salt, will need to develop a ten year strategic outlook for members by occupation and industry. Funds should also be thinking of ways to engage with Australia’s growing migrant intake, particularly in the light of our ageing workforce and a likely further tightening of labour market conditions.

Since 2006, the number of Indians and Chinese moving to Melbourne has grown by more than 40,000. Funds that aren’t already connecting with these burgeoning migrant groups risk missing out on a growth market. Meanwhile, for funds keen to engage with their baby boomer members, Salt’s key message is don’t mention the ‘r’ word.

Boomers won’t retire in the traditional sense. Rather, they’ll move into the “lifestyle” stage of the life cycle. Many will extend their working life well beyond 58, currently the most common retirement age. Some will buy a Winnebago, others will resign to become consultants or corporate mentors.

Salt further predicts that boomers will be a grumpy lot in retirement. They’ll whinge and they’ll ask a lot of questions of their super fund or pension provider. So it’s well and truly time that funds start working seriously on segmenting their memberships and work on product development and marketing strategies that speak differently to each generation.

And most importantly, even though we are in the business of providing retirement incomes to millions of Australians – we need to find a way of doing it without mentioning the R word! Just as well, unlike other countries, we use the word superannuation rather than pension fund. In the meantime – roll on 2010 – the time when Gen Xs like me hit our peak and find our rightful place in the sun, even if only for a short period, until the Gen Ys over take us.