The launch of Griffith’s Centre for Personal Finance and Superannuation (GCPFS) comes at a time when Australians are weighing up the potential implications of the country’s newly established retirement age of 70.
Of particular concern are issues relating to the sustainability and security of retirement income and investment options, among an ageing Australian population.
And the relevance of research undertaken by the GCPFS has international implications, as society witnesses a global shift from the retirement savings phase to the critical retirement income phase.
“We need to tip the scales in favour of retirees by changing how we frame success in funding our retirement income needs, moving the agenda from a pot of gold mindset to an income replacement focus,” said GCPFS Foundation Director, Professor Michael E. Drew.
“The Centre will be considering these issues from a household perspective, seeking to understand how individual investors can approach these challenges.”
Professor Drew is a worldwide authority on superannuation and has just returned from speaking at a series of international retirement symposiums at JP Morgan (New York) and the Stanford Centre on Longevity (Stanford University).
The collective clout of the GCPFS is further enhanced with expertise in personal finance and investment overseen by Griffith University’s Head of Finance, Associate Professor Mark Brimble and investment specialist, Associate Professor Robert J. Bianchi.
The new Centre builds on Griffith’s award winning degree programs in financial planning, involvement in the CSIRO-Monash Superannuation Research Cluster and extensive industry alignments.
The Griffith Centre for Personal Finance and Superannuation provides a source of expertise and a centre of excellence on four distinct streams; personal finance and superannuation, investment, professionalisation of financial services and financial education.
Key note speakers across industry and academia who attended the GCPFS launch included Mr Jeremy Cooper (Chairman, Retirement Income — Challenger) and Ms Danielle Press (Chief Executive Officer, EquipSuper).