A guaranteed income in retirement…
Too good to be true?
Hello there,
When we retire, we’ll ideally own our own home and have enough money to fund our retirement. We’ll have saved hard preparing for the big day but what happens next can still take us by surprise. It’s the realization that the pay cheque’s stopped but the bills haven’t.
Many of us will ask ourselves the hard question; will our savings last as long as we do? And it ’s an impossible question. No one knows what financial markets will do, when recessions will happen, how low interest rates will go, or how long we’ll live.
The financial services industry doesn’t have the answer either. I ’ve worked in it for over 30 years, including time as CEO of both AXA Insurance and the ACC. 6 years ago, I star ted Lifetime Retirement I ncome to provide a solution. I used all my family’s savings, mortgaged our house, and raised millions from hundreds of like-minded kiwis who were prepared to back me in setting up New Zealand’s first insured income provider.
Insured income is very common overseas but new to New Zealand. It’s a combination of investment and insurance. You invest in a balanced fund and receive a for tnightly, tax-paid income that’s insured for as long as you live. Regardless of what happens to interest rates or financial markets, your regular income continues for life.
I t took over 2 years working closely with the Reserve Bank, Financial Markets Authority, and I RD to build Lifetime. We jumped through countless hoops and raised a lot of capital to back the income guarantee. Our mission resonated with many and we’re very privileged to have a great board which includes former Finance Minister, Sir Michael Cullen, former Retirement Commissioner, Dame Diana Crossan, and wellknown financial commentator, Martin Hawes.
We finally launched New Zealand’s first Lifetime Income Fund in December 2015, and 3 years later we’re managing over $130 million for thousands of retired kiwis.
Retirement is something I ’m very passionate about and as a society I think it ’s important we remember to help people actually in retirement, not just those preparing for it . Spending in retirement is very dif ferent to saving for retirement and a lit tle time spent planning can transform a retiree’s lifestyle.
That’s why we launched the Retirement Academy. For the last 3 years, we’ve brought together some of New Zealand’s top economists and financial planners to run free public retirement events and workshops all over the country.
Alongside leading financial commentator, Liz Koh we also just published a free retirement planning guidebook to help kiwis create their own DIY retirement plan. I f you’d like a copy, just order one on our website and we’ll post it out to you, free of charge.
Finally, thank you for taking the time to read this letter. Retirement is a wonderful time and I believe a secure income can help many get the most out of it .
I f you’d like to find out more, please feel free to go to our website or give us a call.
Yours Faithfully,