• White Papers
• 06.01.2015 07:00 pm

While the Australian superannuation industry has been preoccupied in recent years with responding to a raft of regulatory change, the world has not stood still. A number of forces have come into play that stand to radically shape and transform the superannuation landscape of the future. Numerous reports1 forecast continued strong sector growth in the years ahead, however, the ability of funds to take advantage of this growth will depend on their capacity to recognise and embrace change and move with the times.

Beyond regulatory change, perhaps the two most seismic shifts the industry has experienced are the rising importance of the member, in what has traditionally been an employer centric business, coupled with a technological revolution that has forever changed the way people communicate.

Empowered by social networking and the Internet, members’ increasing expectations for responsive, personalised service and real-time capabilities will play a pivotal role in future service delivery. In the years ahead, complacency is not an option.

In this paper, we assert that continued reliance on brittle and complex ecosystems of legacy and bolt-on solutions, combined with a propensity to stick to the old ways of doing things, is a recipe for failure. We identify and explore 10 major trends in the superannuation industry that centre around consumer behaviour, operational efficiency, innovation and technology – all of which have system implications.