Often, innovation lies in thinking differently about how we use things we already have in new ways to make life easier. How we have changed our thinking about retirement income planning and how we keep reimagining retirement is a testament to such innovation.

The innovative way in which we ‘created’ a new or alternative asset class to significantly enhance income planning during retirement will enable some of or all the following outcomes for clients:

• Protect a certain future income stream.

• Enable capital growth.

• Sustain income for longer during retirement.

• Manage inheritance needs.

What is it, and how does it work?

Our living annuity product, the Retirement Income Option, on the Momentum Wealth platform helps people better structure their retirement income plans. Historically, they had to choose between the certainty of a life annuity and the flexibility of a living annuity. Now they can get the best of both in one retirement income solution.

By allocating a portion of their retirement savings to a life annuity component within their living annuity, people can personalise their income plan by deciding:

• how much of their retirement savings they want to use to cover their essential ‘life expenses’; and

• how much they want to use for their more flexible ‘living expenses’.

People can make more informed decisions about their retirement income planning. They can choose to allocate a portion of their retirement money to the Guaranteed Annuity Portfolio, which will pay a guaranteed income for as long as they live. At the same time, they have the investment flexibility to benefit from potential growth from investment markets and the possibility to leave a legacy, all in one living annuity.

The Guaranteed Annuity Portfolio is a life annuity, which is available as an optional investment component to clients starting a new Retirement Income Option or who already have a Retirement Income Option.

We also equip financial advisers with a state-of-the-art income illustrator to show different income scenarios to help clients choose the most suitable structure for their unique income needs and circumstances. The income illustrator brings together a set of multi-dimensional skills from various departments such as our investment management teams, our economists, the actuarial product development team, and our research unit, known as the Research Hive. The merging of these disciplines into an easy-to-use illustration tool will aid financial advisers in providing holistic retirement advice in a way no one has imagined before.

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