Retirement Income Group gets former finance minister on its board

The architect of KiwiSaver has joined the board of Ralph Stewart's Retirement Income Group.

Monday, February 13th 2017, 9:20AM

Sir Michael Cullen, former deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, Attorney-General, and recently Chairman of New Zealand Post has joined the board of the Retirement Income Group Limited.

Retirement Income Group developed and now manages New Zealand’s only modern variable annuity, marketed under the Lifetime Retirement Income brand. A variable annuity is a financial product that converts an investor’s retirement savings into a regular income that is insured to last their entire life.

Sir Michael joins existing independent directors: Diana Crossan, the former Retirement Commissioner of New Zealand; Martin Hawes, a prominent financial commentator; Ralph Stewart, the former CEO of AXA Insurance and ACC; John Strahl, a former partner at DLA Piper; Graeme Mitchell, a former partner at Deloitte; and Timothy Paris, a US-based variable annuity expert.

“Since the successful launch of KiwiSaver in 2007, there has been an obvious need for a well structured investment product that allows savers to convert their retirement savings into a regular income stream that will last their lifetime.

The Lifetime product was launched after three years of research and development and is a modern approach to providing income in retirement. Lifetime Retirement Income has been licensed by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and received a specific tax ruling from the Inland Revenue Department.

As the population continues to age and KiwiSaver members move into retirement it is important they have reliable options to support their income throughout their retirement”, Cullen said.

The Group, which commenced commercial operations in December 2015, now manages over $35m of superannuation and retirement assets.

Tags: Retirement Income Group