Grey expectations: Australia’s retirement saving challenge

In his first major public address, Craig Meller, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of AMP will update CEDA guests on the fiscal and personal financial challenges presented by an aging population, the importance of lifting the national debate to one about financial sustainability for the country, and the critical role quality financial advice plays in enhancing retirement incomes.

Key points

· Australia is facing a demographic certainty that an aging population will severely strain our country’s fiscal position.

· As a country, we need to act now to address this issue, because the changes we need to make to balance our budget will only get harder with time.

· Our country needs to promote policy that incentivises people to save more, encourages them to work longer and budget for an affordable income in retirement because we do not want our citizens to be poorer.

· Financial advice plays a critical role in not only enhancing retirement incomes but also managing the key risks retirees face when the time comes for them to live off their super.

Other key highlights

– We strongly believe the regulatory changes introduced in the last three years across prudential regulation, across consumer protection regulation and across superannuation regulation will work.

– We are strong supporters of this Government’s approach to letting these changes bed down before embarking on any further disruption to the financial services sector.

– Our industry needs to continue to work to improve the professionalism of its participants to ensure the highest confidence in financial advice.

– With the biggest financial advice network in the country, we decided to strengthen our advice standards and reinforce the strong consumer safety net that we provide.

– We do not believe that a regulatory solution through a new, independent statutory body to oversee the financial advice profession is appropriate.

Click here for a copy of the speech.