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Mickey Gambale. June 2013. Momentum Wealth . Happy living – which is the right annuity for me?.
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Mickey Gambale June 2013 Momentum Wealth Happy living – which is the right annuity for me?
The calculations used in this presentation are for illustrative purposes only. The information used for these calculations is based on assumptions utilised to further the understanding of the calculations. This is not the official position or opinion of Momentum and its employees. Momentum will accept no responsibility whatsoever for any loss caused by negligence or otherwise, including without limitation any direct, indirect, punitive or consequential loss resulting from the use of this information or the calculations. Presentation Disclaimer
Regulatory / industry developments: “in search of a sustainable annuity” Are pensioners coping with realities? Guiding factors to consider Is any annuity going to pay you enough? • Contents
Regulatory / industry developments: “In search of a sustainable annuity”
National treasury and retirement reform Treasury released a number of overview discussion documents in where they outlined the following high-level considerations: • Costs of retirement funds and related vehicles • The costs and risks for post-retirement income vehicles • Preservation, portability and uniform access to retirement savings • Savings and fiscal incentives – possible alternatives to encourage savings • Harmonisation of tax treatment of contributions
National treasury and retirement reform • Reform proposals aim to extend the responsibilities of trustees to guide members through the retirement process, • Requiring them to make a default retirement product available • Default could be a guaranteed, living or hybrid annuity • Option to opt out of the default with their entire retirement balance • Trustees will be given some protection in respect of the default • An FSB directive is expected outlining the minimum requirements that Trustees must meet. • The final round of consultation is intended to be completed towards the middle of the year, with the first changes expected to be implemented from 2015 and forward.
ASSA Convention 2012: In search of a sustainable retirement income Source: Lodhia & Swanepoel 2012: Living versus Guaranteed annuities: In search of a sustainable retirement income GAs better equipped than LAs to provide an inflation linked income for life, because: Impact of mortality pooling and the drawdown cap:
Industry conclusions Are living annuities appropriate products? • The financial adviser will assist clients in making suitable investment decisions • “Headlong plunge by 85% of retirees into living annuities at retirement could be creating a generation of impoverished pensioners” • Living annuity 'not your best first choice' - Personal Finance Retirement The Media’s interpretation Financial advisers • “Accused of mis-selling living annuities to reap commissions” – from Actuarial Society Convention • “Where was this research when we were being told to sell living annuities by the product houses?”
Why so many taxpayers moved over to LAs and then failed? Why should I trust insurance companies Why should I work for 40 years to give my money away? Increased energy prices Only a Ponzi Scheme has any prospects of yielding an after-tax return that can keep pace with today’s Eskom increases Changing economic and investment cycles We live in a different world with interest rates < half those 20 years ago Poor decision making Is it possible that some clients and their financial advisers do not understand the risks embedded in LAs? Shady Pines retirement village Most presented with a retirement based on conventional life annuity face a grim retirement from day one KIPPERS Kids in Parents’ Pockets Eroding Retirement Savings. Many LAs overdrawn to support family rather than pensioners Medical costsjust one major setback in a family is enough to severely dent most retirement plans *Sunday Times: Money & careers by Matthew Lester
Is it fair to compare a life and a living annuity? If you’re comparing life annuities to other investment products such as a living annuities, you’re making a classic mistake!
Mistake 1: focusing on returns • The market sells returns - people misunderstand life annuities because financial experts and the media have focused on saving for retirementand, to a large extent, investment returns and “return management,” rather than risk management and, specifically, the risk of outliving one’s assets. • Allowing prevailing interest rates to be a deal-breaker. It’s true that lower interest rates can mean a lower pay out, but the reason to buy an annuity is because you want the absolute insurance of having that income in your bank account every month for life.
Mistake 2: failing to annuitize • Perhaps the biggest mistake is simply failing to annuitize assets to create a guaranteed stream of retirement income..... • A focus on historical returns may make life annuities seem like a bad deal. But that may change going forward • The last decade showed us that though it was fairly easy take money from a portfolio and have that portfolio survive for a long time this may not be the case going forward
Mistake 3: unfair comparisons - costs • Assess the value of a annuity as though all of its costs are nothing but pure overhead is wrong • Life annuities costs include charges for the transfer of risk. Living annuities costs are ongoing risk and portfolio management • Any insurance product on the planet will not pay off on average. That’s something IFA’s need to recognize when we analyse risk-management strategies • Insurance costs shouldn’t be ignored neither should investment costs. They might be too high or too low. But insurance shouldn’t be compared to investment products
Living vs.. Life annuities, should they be compared Living annuities • Provides for an income linked to investment portfolio • Flexible drawdown range 2.5% - 17.5% • The flexibility of the offering enables you to enjoy the potential growth if the market performs • It is an investment and not an insurance product
Living vs.. Life annuities, should they be compared Life annuities • Pass on all the risk to life companies • The benefits of pooling works in your favour, but equally so against • You should have saved enough to get a good starting income • Life annuities are a insurance and not a investment product
Consider a LivingAnnuity if Consider Guaranteed Annuity if You have sufficient capital at retirement and you want flexibility You require a known guaranteed annuity with no investment risk during retirement You have access to skilled, trusted and independent financial advice You don’t want to run the risk of out living your income for the rest of your life You want to leave a financial inheritance when you die You are not married and / or you don’t care what happens to your money when you die You would like to be involved in decision making during retirement You want to benefit from the mortality benefits offered by risk pooling You have a life expectancy < 15 years You have a life expectancy > 15 years
It depends on how much you’ve saved. A life annuity isn’t a solution for saving too little, though it does protect you against running out of money
Looking back on reality Corporate John • Current salary at retirement R500k • Discount rate of 6% • Investment growth of 9% pa after fees (no tax) • Retires at age 65, wife 60 • Worked for 40 years • Purchases joint life CPI linked annuity with 33% reduction on first death
Where to from here? • Educate market to gain a better understanding of trade-offs between LA and GA both by client and IFA • Retirees need to better understand the impact drawing down too much income • Requirement for higher equity exposure and associated volatility if they opt for a living annuity • How do we continuously support / monitor to ensure sufficient income in retirement? • Engagement with requlators • Collaborate across product houses and industry players to create innovative products and support one another
“Human behavior flows from three main sources: desire, emotion, and knowledge. ” – Plato 424-348 BC As the people in the know our purpose should be to create responsible solutions for stress-free living and a comfortable retirement for all our clients
