Equip has introduced the flexibility to take between 4-7 per cent income from its MyPension product launched in July last year.

The product is currently live with 20 members, with several hundred pre-retirees registering an interest in signing up.

Feedback from the latter group has led to the original setting of 7 per cent income drawdown being lowered to the statutory minimum level of 4 per cent wherever requested.

The 7 per cent level was originally chosen as the maximum drawdown that would still allow a member’s account a good chance of paying an income until they were aged 90.

Geoff Brooks, executive officer, strategic marketing and communications at Equip, said that while members “loved” the prescribed asset allocation and annual rebalancing features, many had very specific ideas about the retirement income they needed.

“A number aged up to 64 wanted to reduce their drawdown as low as the minimum mandated 4 per cent per annum,” said Brooks.

The reasons for members wanting a lower drawdown ranged from having alternative sources of income in retirement, such as rental income. While others wanted to preserve capital for longer for estate planning purposes.

* Danielle Press, chief executive of Equip, will speak on her fund’s retirement proposition at the Post Retirement Conference, held at the Ivy Ballroom, Sydney on March 10.

To find out more about the conference and to register visit https://www.etouches.com/ehome/index.php?eventid=110520

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