LifeIncome’s new features help retirees fund a dignified retirement with enhanced product versatility in response to feedback from financial advisers and retirees.
Melbourne, 7 June 2023: Generation Life, Australia’s leading provider of innovative tax-effective investment solutions, has today launched the next generation of its investment-linked lifetime annuity offering, LifeIncome, with a series of unique new features including: LifeIncome Flex.
Lifetime annuities are a tool retirees can use to provide additional income alongside their account-based pension to boost their retirement income.
The updated offering has been developed in response to feedback from financial advisers and their retiree clients, alongside research from Grattan Institute* and the Retirement Income Review.** The data identified that Australians spend far less in retirement once they hit 80, but are excessively frugal in their early retirement years because of concerns that they’ll run out of money. There is also a lack of awareness around the financial products that exist to give them the peace of mind this won’t happen.
Reflecting these insights, LifeIncome Flex now offers financial advisers’ clients the opportunity to increase their starting income when they enter retirement, expanding income as their investment grows over time, and, if they are applying as a couple for example, lowering income in their later years when one of them passes away and their income requirements change.
The full list of LifeIncome’s product feature enhancements are:
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An option to include a loved one other than a spouse as the reversionary beneficiary when LifeIncome is commenced with non-superannuation money.
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Couples can now also increase their starting income through LifeIncome Flex, reflecting – as Age Pensions do – that couples spend more money together than they do after one passes away. Income is lowered upon the passing of the client or their partner. The benefit of choosing LifeIncome Flex is that the client and their spouse or partner can receive a higher starting income and greater cumulative income sooner, while they are both alive.
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A new dollar cost averaging facility as part of Generation Life’s LifeIncome offering assists when investment markets are going through volatile periods by allowing clients to receive a weighted average price for their investment.
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Following direct feedback from users, clients can choose to receive fortnightly payments either at the same time as their Centrelink Age Pension payments or the alternate fortnight.
Patrick Clarke, General Manager Retirement Solutions at Generation Life, said:
“Our goal at Generation Life is to empower Australians to live the retirement lifestyle they desire and deserve. Retirement is a deeply personal and emotional time, and we understand that Australians need investment options that give them flexibility and versatility, reflecting their retirement priorities and goals. With this in mind, we’re excited to introduce LifeIncome’s new feature: LifeIncome Flex. As the most flexible lifetime-linked annuity in the Australian market, LifeIncome Flex gives financial advisers the ability to help Aussies increase their retirement income in the early years so they can live life to the fullest throughout their retirement.”
This announcement follows the success of Generation Life’s first version of LifeIncome which launched in 2022. Generation Life’s LifeIncome product was also a finalist in the top 10 AFR Boss Most Innovative Companies awards in 2022.
Find out more about LifeIncome Flex here.
