Understanding what members need in retirement

Last month, TAL was proud to again sponsor ASFA's Spotlight on Retirement conference in Melbourne. The event brought together leaders from across the superannuation industry to share ideas and take stock of where the industry is heading on retirement. Shaun Bransdon, TAL's General Manager of Retirement & Wealth, contributed to the conversation in two sessions across the day. 

Designing better member retirement pathways

Shaun was joined on stage by Katherine Salih, Senior Manager of Retirement Proposition at AustralianSuper, and Ben Hillier, Director of Retirement at AMP, to discuss what member pathways to retirement looks like – and how super funds can help make them smoother. 

The session kicked off with an audience poll asking what the single largest barrier stopping funds from guiding their members into lifetime income solutions. ‘Organisational capability’ came out on top, ahead of member data, product gaps and regulatory uncertainty. 

The question of how far trustees can go in guiding members was also put to the panel, with audience members asking whether trustee caution is itself a barrier. The response was clear: funds can do considerably more than they currently do within existing rules, and well-designed general advice and nudges leave significant room to better support members. 

Another topic for discussion was member cohorting as a design tool, with one view being that members' circumstances, attitudes and sources of wealth are often too varied for segmentation to do the heavy lifting. 

On product design, panellists explored the tension between offering enough choice and keeping things simple enough for members to act. The panel agreed that members tend to engage better when the pathway starts with their needs, not the product range. 

Ben explained how AMP members who have invested in lifetime income solutions tend to spend significantly more in retirement than those who haven’t. The product isn't the end in itself, but removing the fear of running out of money gives members more freedom to enjoy the retirement they have worked towards. 

Katherine closed the session with a call for the industry to move beyond single-lens thinking. 

What I wish I knew about retirement: Research insights

Also during the conference, Shaun presented highlights from the second edition of TAL's What I Wish I Knew About Retirement research paper, followed by a Q&A session with James Koval, ASFA Chief Policy & Advocacy Officer.

Key findings include:

• Nearly half of current retirees (48%) took no meaningful action to prepare for retirement, up from 39% in our 2024 study. 
• Declining physical health, reduced mobility and the need for long-term care are among the top retirement concerns for both pre-retirees and retirees. 
• Financial worries follow close behind, with 1 in 3 pre-retirees worried about their ability to make sound financial decisions 20 years from now. 
• While only 37% of pre-retirees expect to rely on the Age Pension, 47% of retirees are already drawing on it as an income source. For members who arrive at it unexpectedly, it can represent a meaningful reduction in their spending power. 
• Retirees who invested their super into a lifetime income stream report around 90% satisfaction with their decision. But most pre-retirees have little understanding of how these products work, and 87% want to find out more. 
• 64% of pre-retirees trust their fund to guide them on retirement, but only 55% are satisfied with the guidance they currently receive. Super funds are the primary source of retirement information for pre-retirees, pointing to a real opportunity to close that gap. 

The research also highlights three areas where super funds can make a positive impact for members approaching retirement: 

• product designs that solve real member problems 
• education delivered at scale 
• proactive engagement throughout the retirement journey – not just at the point of transition. 

For more insights, download our second edition of What I Wish I Knew About Retirement.