As we enter 2009, businesses and individuals alike are confronting major challenges as arguably the most serious and far reaching financial crisis since the depression sets in.

So what are consumers looking for in this difficult time?

Lack of confidence and uncertainty about the future requires flexibility. We anticipate that the retirement income products which will be of far more interest to individuals in the near future will need to offer this flexibility - enabling investors to vary their post retirement income levels to suit their lifestyle, retain access to capital, possibly revert to beneficiaries on death and allow for a range of asset alternatives whilst invested. A product provider who can address these challenges will create opportunities to develop their business and broaden their relationships with their existing clients.

What innovation is required in future products?

Future retirement products are expected to encompass some or all of the following features:

1. Investment choice: Allow investors to tailor their risk/return profile to their investment selection
2. Guarantees: A range of guarantees to meet investors’ requirements on income and/or account value
3. Control of income drawdown: Options need to be based on investor needs, for example, support access to tax free cash but delay income withdrawal or the ability to pay income to a reversionary
4. Deferment options: A pension plan with market linked growth or guaranteed until the investor elects to retire and draw an income
5. Lifestyling: The ability to move funds from investment to annuity purchase at different stages as investors adopt a conservative approach in later life
6. Joined up administration: Closer integration with more holistic wealth management platforms such as Wrap.

Do product providers have the technology to deliver new products?

To be competitive in the marketplace, we believe that product providers must be able to deliver a range of retirement income products with the flexibility to respond to market changes. A key enabler of product innovation is the IT platform. For many product providers, the traditional annuity is the only post retirement product they provide. Their technology platforms are often limited in their capability to adapt to the expected innovation in retirement income products.

Experience counts

Bravura Solutions addresses these challenges with applications that support the administration of the full spectrum of retirement products for a wide range of providers in different parts of the world. In the UK we support traditional products as well providing platforms in support of the growing SIPP market. In the Australian superannuation market, our systems are utilised to provide annuities, term guaranteed annuities, allocated pensions and term allocated pensions as well as personal pensions (superannuation), and unit linked investment portfolios. In New Zealand we provide extensive support for the Kiwisaver initiative which commenced in July 2007. The New Zealand Government selected six default providers, four of which utilise a Bravura Solutions application.