Extreme caution should be applied to MySuper being treated as a whole-of-life product which will solve Australia’s looming post-retirement problems, said Wade Matterson, practice leader Milliman Actuaries.

The potential evolution of MySuper into a whole-of-life product “with the inclusion of income stream products and advice should be treated with high levels of caution”, he said.

Member engagement, and not revamped default options, would be the way to address longevity issues, he said.

“The sheer complexity and individual nature of retirement – together with increasing innovation across income-based solutions and strategies – means that we should strive for member engagement rather than attempt to extend default arrangements into a whole-of-life proposition,” he said.

While funds faced problems in retaining retiring members, Matterson said these could also become opportunities for funds to leverage their scale to provide advice, insurance, complimentary and ancillary services, and post-retirement communities.

“Industry funds are in the unique position of having memberships dominated by particular professions,” he said, and this gave them the chance to establish retirement communities among members with similar interests.

“This could potentially be an outlet for social media in superannuation, and provide funds with the ability to collect insightful membership data.

Matter son is speaking at the Post-Retirement Conference in Melbourne on Thursday March 10 at the Sofitel on Collins, Melbourne.

For information and registration,  Click Here.