2021
ONLINE EVENT
For the third year, this forum will bring together policymakers and thought-leaders, academics and industry leaders across each of the three pillars of retirement funding.
The three pillars – superannuation, Age Pension and voluntary savings, including home equity – underpin Australia’s retirement funding system. The forum will explore the major opportunities to meet the needs of Australia’s ageing population.
About
In its third year, Household Capital’s Three Pillars Forum has become a thought leader event, driving discussion and innovation in the retirement community sector.
The half-day event will consist of a plenary speech by the Hon Anne Ruston, Minister for Families and Social Services, followed by three specialist panels, covering consumers, economy and the retirement industry. To be facilitated by experienced presenter and broadcaster Ali Moore, the event includes a broad cross section of industry leaders committed to sharing the latest information, a forum in which views and experiences will be shared.
Panel one
Australian retirees are the wealthiest in the world; but are they loving life?
This panel will explore whether Australian retirees experience confidence and lifestyles that match being the wealthiest in the world. Topics covered included the challenges of delivering coherent financial advice and access to all three pillars of retirement funding, how to provide retirees confidence in their own wealth and lifestyles.
Panel two
Housing and funding retirement; the economic boost of a trillion dollars of Australian retiree property
This session will explore the potential economic boost from releasing the $1 trillion dollar Australian retiree property portfolio. The expert panel will look at the immediate benefits of releasing the funds into the market, economic multiplier effects of equity release and economic stimulus from both additional funding and consumer confidence.
Panel three
Longevity, blessing or curse? Uniting the industry to deliver three pillars to fund an ageing population.
The final panel unites experts from every element of aged care funding including superannuation, the aged pension, home equity including the Pension Loan Scheme, and the latest in technology delivery. The panel will consider the challenges facing an ageing population and how the industry can unite to provide customer first solutions that give our retirees the very best outcomes, and will discuss key elements from the Retirement Income Covenant Outlook.
Speakers
Senator the Hon Anne Ruston
Minister for Families and Social Services, Minister for Women’s Safety. And Manager of Government Business in the Senate.
In July 2014, Anne was elected Senior Deputy Government Whip in the Senate and chair of the Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee. She was also an active participant in the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee, initiating inquiries into the Australian citrus and wine industries.
Senator Ruston was appointed Assistant Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources in September 2015. She was subsequently appointed as Assistant Minister for International Development and the Pacific in August 2018.
Prior to becoming a Senator, Anne held several senior positions in government and the private sector, including as the inaugural chief executive of the National Wine Centre.
Noel Whittaker
International bestselling author, finance and investment expert, radio broadcaster, newspaper columnist and public speaker.
Noel is one of Australia’s most successful authors, with 23 bestselling books achieving worldwide sales of more than two million copies. His book, Making Money Made Simple, set Australian sales records and was named in the 100 Most Influential Books of the Twentieth Century. His new book Retirement Made Simple is now on the bestseller list as well.
For 30 years, Noel was a Director of Whittaker Macnaught, one of Australia’s leading financial advisory companies. In 2011 he was made a Member of the Order of Australia for service to the community in raising awareness of personal finance.
In 2011 he was made a Member of the Order of Australia for service to the community in raising awareness of personal finance.
John Maroney
CEO of the SMSF Association
The Association focuses on improving the quality of advisors, the knowledge of trustees and the credibility and health of a vibrant SMSF community. John has developed strong connections with the SMSF sector’s regulators, ATO, ASIC & FASEA, provided substantial input into official inquiries, Productivity Commission, Franking Credits & Royal Commission, and represented the sector extensively to the Government and media.
John is passionate about helping all Australians be better prepared for a secure and dignified retirement, especially those who have chosen to utilise self-managed superannuation funds as the main component of their retirement savings. John’s experience includes extensive senior management, Board and consulting roles in superannuation, insurance, Australian and international financial regulation, actuarial and risk management plus managing professional and industry associations.
Hazel Bateman
Deputy Director, ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research
Hazel Bateman is a Professor in the School of Risk & Actuarial Studies, UNSW Sydney and a Chief Investigator and Deputy Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR). Her current research investigates the role of choice and information architecture, financial advice and financial literacy on lifecycle financial decisions including superannuation and housing.
She also works on design of and demand for retirement products including annuities, aged care insurance and reverse mortgages, and the taxation and regulation of superannuation.
Hazel works closely with the financial services industry, super funds and policy makers in Australia and internationally and has consulted to international organisations including the World Bank and the OECD. She is a member of the UniSuper Consultative Committee, Netspar’s Scientific Committee, the Advisory Board of the Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index, the China Ageing Finance Forum and the Conexus Institute Advisory Board. In 2019 she was appointed inaugural President of the International Pensions Research Association (IPRA).
Jeremy Duffield
Executive Chairman of SuperEd and Retirement Essentials, which are leading the way in digital financial help and advice for older Australians. Jeremy is passionate about getting clients better retirement outcomes.
Jeremy was the founder and Chairman of Vanguard Investments Australia (1996-2010) and served as a senior executive of The Vanguard Group from 1980 to 2010 in the US, Asia and Australia.
Previously, he was founding chairman of Plum Financial Services and, currently, he is chair of MLC’s asset management subsidiary and a director of Vanguard Super. He has served as the Chairman of the Australian (now Monash) Centre For Financial Studies, vice chairman of the Investment and Financial Services Association, a member of the Financial Sector Advisory Council, and a member of the Australia As A Financial Centre Forum.
James Hickey
Qualified actuary and leader of Deloitte Australia’s actuarial practice. He has over 25 years’ experience in consulting to corporates, regulators and government bodies across all matters of financial services.
James has been at the forefront of equity release in Australia since 2003 when he first assisted a number of non-bank lenders to undertake scoping studies and ultimately market entry. As an actuary he advised on the product design and financial risk parameters, as well as the customer value proposition and alignment to retirement needs of Australian seniors.
James advised a number of financial planner groups in designing their approved product panel of equity release providers and appropriate “needs based” analyses to support advice around equity release to consumers. He has been on the Actuaries Institute task force in releasing a “green paper” on “Unlocking Housing Wealth” which proposed various measures to support greater use of equity release to align with retirement needs of consumers.
George Haramis
CEO & Co-Founder of Fiduciary Financial Services Pty Ltd
George Haramis has held various executive roles with some of Australia’s leading domestic and international financial institutions.
He is a founder of a listed advice business, working with a number of Australia’s largest superannuation funds in presenting fund management solutions, establishing both retail and wholesale distribution channels, and working closely with the accounting profession. He is responsible for two of the country’s largest institutionally owned Dealer Groups: Securitor, and RetireInvest.
Most recently George became a Co-Founder of Fiduciary Financial Services Pty Ltd, which has created Australia’s first, fully client-led digital advice service – delivering affordable and accessible financial advice to all working Australians.
Kyra-Bae Snell
Co Founder & Executive Director at CareAbout.
Kyra is the Co Founder of CareAbout, a business that guides people through the process to access government funding for Home Care Packages.
CareAbout has helped thousands of Australians find their way through the maze of Aged Care and is one of the highest ranking businesses in Australia according to the independent review website TrustPilot.
Kyra is passionate about quality care and believes accessing quality care in your own home as you age is a basic human right. CareAbout operates across Australia with headquarters in Melbourne.
Dr Deborah Ralston
Co-author of the Retirement Income Review
Dr Deborah Ralston has more than 24 years of board-level experience across commercial and public sectors. She is currently a member of the Reserve Bank of Australia Payments System Board and holds a number of non-executive director roles. In 2019 Deborah was appointed by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg to the 3-member panel for the Retirement Income Review.
Deborah is currently a Professorial Fellow at Monash University, where she is a member of the Steering Committee for the Mercer CPA Global Pension Index. She was previously the Principal Investigator of the CSIRO-Monash Superannuation Research Cluster, and inaugural Chair of ASIC’s Digital Finance Advisory Committee. In 2018, she was appointed to the Comprehensive Income Products for Retirement Framework Advisory Committee.
Dr Ralston holds a Master of Economics, a Doctor of Philosophy in financial regulation and is a Fellow of CPA Australia and the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has accepted the role of “Chairperson” on Household Capital’s Board.
Bob Officer
Chair of Acorn Capital
Bob is also the Chair of JCP Investment Partnership, and on the Boards of infrastructure group CP2 and the Colonial Foundation. Bob has served as Chairman of Victorian Funds Management Corporation, Chair of Victorian WorkCover Authority, as a director of Transurban Ltd, Bank of Melbourne, Transport Accident Commission, and on the Investment Committee of UniSuper.
He Chaired the Commissions of Audit for the Kennett and Howard governments. Bob is a former director of the Over Fifty Group Ltd, a financial service provider to senior Australians, and a director of the Committee for Sustainable Retirement Incomes. Bob is Emeritus Professor, The University of Melbourne (Professor of Finance at Melbourne Business School from 1986 to 2002). After completing a Masters Degree in Agricultural Economics, he completed an MBA and PhD at the University of Chicago. He returned to Australia in 1971, initially to the University of Queensland, after which he held Chairs at Monash and Melbourne universities. He has also been a visiting professor at the universities of Stanford, Wharton and Rochester. His recreational pursuits include farming in North East Victoria, where he breeds Wagyu cattle.
Andrew Kail
CEO of Legal & General Retail Retirement (LGRR), one of the Group’s five divisions.
Andrew joined Legal & General in March 2021 from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), where he spent 30 years in a wide variety of roles including, most recently, as Head of Financial Services. As a long-standing senior auditor Andrew brings huge financial sector experience as well as expertise in regulation, risk and technology. At LGRR, Andrew leads the division in its mission to provide the best retirement solutions to customers in the UK and internationally, including retirement income products, workplace savings, later life mortgages and care solutions.
Andrew has a passion for customer service and also for the social value that Legal & General’s inclusive capitalism agenda provides. His team helps more than four and a half a million customers to live their own ‘colourful retirements’.
Andrew graduated in Economics from the University of Manchester and is a Chartered Accountant (ICAEW) and a non-executive board member of TheCityUK.
Ben Hillier
General Manager Retirement Solutions at AMP
Ben has over 25 years of experience in strategic management and product leadership across superannuation, SMSFs, private wealth, banking, property, energy, and digital. At QSuper earlier this year he launched a Lifetime Pension product – which aims to provide higher rates of income that never run out.
Most recently, Ben has joined AMP as their General Manager Retirement Solutions where he aims to help people to live the retirement lifestyle that they deserve. AMP is a financial services company which provides financial advice, banking products, superannuation, and investment products.
Dr Josh Funder
CEO and Managing Director of Household Capital
Prior to founding Household Capital in 2016, Josh was a co-founder, director and former chairman of Per Capita, whose research on longevity and positive ageing formed part of the inspiration for Household Capital.
Josh has served as chairman and director of US and Australian companies and spent over a decade working in venture capital. Working with the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative, Josh helped successfully negotiate reduced prices for anti-retrovirals and initiate pharmaceutical supplies across eastern and southern Africa.
Joshua earned B.Sc. and LL.B. degrees at The University of Melbourne, an LL.M. degree at the London School of Economics and a D.Phil in intellectual property for biotechnology from Oxford University, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar.
Troy Sloan
Group Manager, Pension, Housing and Homelessness Group, in the Australian Government Department of Social Services (DSS).
In his current role, Troy is responsible for the: Age Pension; Disability Support Pension; Commonwealth Rent Assistance; the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement; the National Rental Affordability Scheme; and Safe Places emergency accommodation.
Prior to this Troy has held Senior Executive roles in DSS, the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, the National Indigenous Australians Agency and the (then) Department of Infrastructure and Transport. In these roles Troy was responsible for data and analytics, the Closing the Gap refresh, delivery of large infrastructure projects, and taxation and employment policy.
Troy has a Bachelor of Economic (honours) for the University of Adelaide.
Thomas Davidoff
Director of Centre for Urban Economics and Real Estate at University of British Columbia
Davidoff holds the Stanley Hamilton Professorship in Real Estate Finance at the University of British Columbia (UBC), is director of the UBC’s Centre for Urban Economics and Real Estate, and is an associate professor in UBC’s Strategy and Business Economics Division.
Davidoff is currently an associate editor of the Journal of Housing Economics and the Journal of Risk and Insurance. His research interests include housing, real estate economics, and retirement finance. Davidoff served as a senior economist at the White House Council of Economic advisers in 2011.
Davidoff received his B.A. in social studies from Harvard College, his M.A. in public affairs and urban and regional planning from Princeton University, and his Ph.D. in economics and urban studies and planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Fiona Navarro
Retirement Specialist at Household Capital
Fiona manages Household Capital’s retirement partnerships with financial advisers, professionals, aged care and home care providers and has been actively engaged with Household Capital clients. Fiona has over 30 years experience in the Financial Services Industry, holding senior positions with a number of large companies. Fiona has an extensive background in financial advice including running a large financial services licensee and managing delivery of personal and business succession advice through strategic partnerships.
Fiona believes strongly in the ideal for older Australians to remain financially independent and age with integrity whilst living the best life available.
Fiona holds a Bachelor of Business, Diploma of Financial Planning, Certificate IV Finance and Mortgage Broking and has attended the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Stephen Reilly
Chief Operating Officer at HESTA
Stephen is the Chief Operating Officer of HESTA, one of the largest and fastest growing superannuation funds in the country, with over 900,000 members and $64 billion in funds under management. He is also a Director on the Board of the Mothers Day Classic Foundation.
At HESTA, Stephen and his team are responsible for the quality of HESTA’s operating model, service delivery, digital, technology and investment operations. Stephen has a unique and eclectic background that includes enterprise and digital strategy, management consulting, novel writing, television and radio presenting.
Emma Dawson
Executive Director of Per Capita
Formerly, Emma was a senior advisor on sustainability and inclusion at Telstra, Executive Director of the Institute for a Broadband Enabled Society, University of Melbourne, and a senior policy advisor in the Rudd and Gillard Governments.
Emma has published articles on public policy and social affairs in both academic journals and the mainstream press, and is a regular panellist on The Drum on ABC TV. She is a graduate of LaTrobe and Monash Universities, and an Honorary Fellow in the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Melbourne.
Tim Lawless
Head of research, CoreLogic Asia Pacific
Tim is widely regarded as one of Australia’s leading property market analysts and commentators by business and the media.
As the founder of the CoreLogic Australian research division (formerly RP Data), Tim’s expertise across property markets has positioned him as one of the country’s most experienced and popular property market analysts and commentators. His knowledge and expertise is sought after by myriad government entities and regulators as well as national and international corporate entities operating across property, banking and financial sectors.
As group Research Director, Tim heads up a team of analysts across both Australia and New Zealand and is responsible for reporting on property market conditions and the interplay with economic and demographic factors.
Tim has more than 15 years’ experience in similar roles and holds a Bachelor of Business degree, specialising in information management, from the Queensland University of Technology.
Participants
With thanks to the individuals and organisations participating in the 2021 Three Pillar Forum.
