By the FSC Team
The Financial Services Council's Innovation in Retirement forum was held in Sydney on 16 October 2025.
The Financial Services Council's Innovation in Retirement forum welcomed a capacity audience of over 280 attendees from over 80 companies. Drawing on its deep connections across industry, government, and regulation, the FSC brought together CEOs and senior leaders from the retirement and superannuation landscape-including leading retail and not-for-profit funds, regulators, institutional investors, technology experts, and financial advice businesses-to explore the future of retirement in Australia.
Global Perspectives & Key Forces Shaping Retirement Outcomes
BlackRock Australasia's Katie Petering (Head of Investment Strategy), joined live from Chicago by BlackRock USA's Stacey Tovrov (Head of Investment Strategy for Retirement Solutions), opened the forum with a compelling global perspective on institutional investment trends, portfolio construction, and the key forces shaping retirement outcomes worldwide. Their deep expertise and forward-looking insights laid a strong foundation for the day's discussions, setting the tone for a forum focused on innovation and impact.
Personalisation, Longevity and the Power of Advice
The first panel session featured AMP Limited CEO Alexis George, Apollo Global Management Chair (ANZ) David Moffatt, and Aware Super CEO Deanne Stewart, who shared bold ideas on how to ensure Australians can retire with confidence. Their discussion focused on the shift toward personalised member outcomes, the critical role of advice in all its forms, and the opportunity to leverage global balance sheets to deliver innovative retirement solutions to members. They also emphasised the importance of fostering an environment that encourages innovation without penalising funds for experimentation.
MUFG CEO (ANZ) Frank Lombardo chaired a session on measuring retirement outcomes, featuring NGS Super CEO Natalie Previtera, BT Financial Group CEO Matt Rady, and Mercer Head of Retirement and Retention Kelly Shay. Panellists highlighted member confidence as a key metric-comparable to a net promoter score-and discussed the growing influence of generative AI in member interactions, noting its dual role as both a challenge and an opportunity for trustees.
Longevity remained a central theme throughout the day. In a session chaired by Deloitte's Anthony Saliba, UniSuper Chief Advice Officer Andrew Gregory, Challenger Chief Executive (Insurance) Anton Kapel, and MLC Expand CEO Liz McCarthy explored the shift from focusing on account balances to delivering sustainable income in retirement. They discussed how innovation in product design and income layering is helping to build member confidence, with technology and advice integration identified as critical to success.
Staying on that theme, in an energetic session exploring Generative AI, Amplify CEO Will Liang reminded us that AI is not just an industry priority but a powerful enabler, helping us address some of the sector's biggest challenges, from member engagement to cybersecurity and productivity.
Evolving Advice Models, Regulator Priorities and Investment Opportunities
The afternoon sessions began with a focus on cracking the member engagement code through financial advice, chaired by Insignia Financial ED Strategy & Innovation Andrew Howard. Melanie Dunn (Principal, Accurium), Ian Knox (Chair, Otivo) and Matt Lawler (CEO, Akumin) underscored the critical importance of collaboration between super funds and financial advisers and highlighted the need for digital advice to be seamlessly integrated into broader engagement strategies-delivering both efficiency and accessibility for members.
The conversation then turned to the growing role of private markets in the Australian retirement landscape. Victor Rodriguez, Chief Executive (Funds Management) at Challenger, chaired an international panel featuring Tarik Trent (Apollo Global Management, Singapore), Herbert Suen (Blackstone, Singapore), Jacqui Crothers (KKR), and Simon La Greca (QIC). The session explored the rapid growth of private credit and the opportunities to harness global capital to support retirement outcomes.
In a keynote address, APRA Chair Margaret Cole outlined the regulator's key areas of focus in retirement, including expectations around the Retirement Income Covenant and the thematic review tracking trustee progress. In a fireside chat with AMP's Melinda Howes, she also addressed the ongoing challenges of cyber and operational risk, and the need to strike the right balance between financial safety, competition, and innovation.
The forum concluded with a forward-looking panel chaired by financial media leader Michael Stutchbury, featuring Renato Mota, Diane Brown from Treasury, Kate Farrar (CEO, Brighter Super), and Daniel Shrimski (Managing Director, Vanguard Australia). With the retirement system poised for continued exponential growth and consolidation, the panel explored the implications for competition, investment strategies, and the future of member engagement and advice models. Once again, the importance of delivering personalised, member-centric solutions was a key theme.
The FSC thanks its Major Partners-BlackRock, Challenger Limited, and MLC Expand-and Supporting Partners-MUFG Pension & Market Services and Vanguard Australia-for helping bring the industry together to connect, share ideas, and shape the future of retirement.
SPG Payday Super workshop
Alongside the forum, the FSC welcomed another 57 attendees from 35 companies to its specialist Superannuation Practitioners Group's 'Payday Super' workshop. This half-day session brought together superannuation practitioners, service providers, and regulators to align on a standardised, industry-wide approach to implementing Payday Super and Contributions V3.
Through a series of focused sessions, the workshop clarified key timelines, explored readiness across gateways and clearing houses, and unpacked the practical steps needed for NPP implementation under Schedule 3. With insights from the ATO, industry leaders, and technology experts, the event fostered collaboration to reduce complexity and risk, and ensure consistent, member-focused outcomes across the superannuation sector. Our thanks to speakers Josh Brackenbury (Qvalent), Michelle Bower (Gateway Network Governance Body), Jason Hunt (ANZ), Jason Low (TAPS), Trent Lund (Wrkr), Shane Moore (ATO), Susan Pearce (Aware Super), Alastair Ramsay (ATO) and Marnie Ryan (Australian Payments Plus).
