Adrian Stewart

Allianz Retire+ has announced the launch of its new retirement income product, Allianz Guaranteed Income for Life (AGILE) available in early March.

AGILE is a next generation retirement solution that delivers a guaranteed income for life, will provide full advice platform integration opportunities and can be embedded within superannuation funds and account-based pensions. The solution also enables advisers to construct retirement strategies with certainty, years in advance of a client’s retirement.

Retirement Income Covenant gives green light to innovation

Allianz Retire+ recognised the significant changes within the financial services industry, specifically the call for greater innovation with retirement income products following the Retirement Income Covenant (RIC) which came into effect in July last year.

“Innovation in retirement products has consistently been deprioritised and surpassed by more urgent issues concerning the industry. That all changed in July last year, following the implementation of the RIC a bright line was clearly drawn by the government and APRA. The starting gun has been fired,” said Allianz Australia Life Insurance CEO, Adrian Stewart.

“The industry has been put on notice. We need to collaborate, take action and deliver solutions to members and clients or it might just be regulated with mandated outcomes.

“The grey tsunami is coming and over the next 20 years there’s going to be up to 10 million Australians who will be in retirement^[1]. We have assembled a team of global specialists with deep sector expertise to build new solutions that align to the urgent needs of advisers and institutions to deliver these next generation products for Australian retirees.”

Changing the game for advisers and superfunds

AGILE is designed to enhance the provision of retirement planning for advisers. It offers the ability to lock in a guaranteed rate of income while clients are still in the accumulation phase (pre-retirement) or retirement income phase, to better plan retirement strategies with certainty.

The solution was developed in consultation with some of the biggest super funds in the country and the adviser community, direct retiree feedback and the global Allianz network in established retirement markets.

Mr Stewart explained, “This process took considerable time, but we believe this product sets a new standard for the industry, for the first time a retirement product allows advisers to integrate retirement solutions into their current ecosystem that deliver outcomes with certainty for the entirety of their client’s life.”

The company has made significant investments in leading edge technology and retirement solution infrastructure to support a pipeline of innovative products that deliver certainty and flexibility.

AGILE is founded on the most successful retirement solution that’s tried and tested from Allianz Life Company in the US which manages over $165bn USD in retirement savings.

Overcoming longevity risk through next gen solutions

The universal problem for Australians preparing for and during retirement is the fear of running out of money.

“When we talked to advisers, retirees and super funds, it was unanimous. Retirees need certainty of income and the last thing they need is their income to go down or be volatile in a market drawdown.

The time is now for advisers and retirees to consider anchoring their portfolios with a guaranteed income. The markets are highly volatile, inflation is rife and the income profile for retirees can be locked in now, market linking their asset base (up to a maximum return) with downside protection, until the income is turned on,” said Mr Stewart.

The role of a guaranteed income in portfolio construction is to provide stability that retirees can rely on throughout their retirement, despite market conditions. As one of the world’s largest insurance companies, managing risk is in Allianz’s DNA.

Access to capital is another key issue for retirees. Which is why next generation products like AGILE provide flexibility by allowing retirees to withdraw funds at any time.

Mr Stewart concluded, “We are deeply committed to protecting Australians’ hard-earned savings and delivering the best solutions for both industry and retirees. We are just getting started.”

Allianz is a global leader in the provision of retirement solutions. With over 30 years’ experience in the US retirement market, the group has a presence in over 70 countries and serves 126 million retail and corporate clients. Allianz has been offering customer-centric solutions for Australians since 1914.

——–

[1] Australian Bureau of Statistics

The post Allianz Retire+ raises the bar, introducing guaranteed income for life appeared first on AdviserVoice.