Actuaries, academics link up
By Anne Lampe
July 14, 2005
The likely impact on share and property markets of baby boomer retirees spending their savings rather than handing them down is being researched by a joint venture between Sydney actuaries and Australian National University.
Actuarial firm Rice Walker has been researching superannuation issues for several years and hopes its association with the ANU in a yet to be named company will boost its modelling capability.
The venture will match the university's research and data input facilities and its access to Bureau of Statistics data with Rice Walker's market knowledge and access to industry information.
In the past, Rice Walker has produced studies on the superannuation savings gap - the amount of money retirees require for a comfortable retirement - and super fund fees and their impact on retirement benefits.
Other projects for the joint venture will include assessment of social security before and after retirement, the impact of tax policy and changes, the integration between super and social security and tax, and whether women will have enough super.
At the ANU end, actuarial, economics and commerce students will be involved.
About 10 people are likely to be involved in modelling projects. At least half will be actuaries or actuarial students. The aim is to produce at least one report a month.
The venture will acquire Rice Walker's intellectual property on superannuation models and expand it. Models will tap into demographic statistics and financial data and marry them with economic assumptions.
"The additional resources will allow us to undertake many more interesting and valuable projects," said Rice Walker director Michael Rice. "The resources at ANU will help develop better databases, which will help us to respond quicker to client requests and undertake work in a broader range of activities."
David Service, senior lecturer in the School of Finance & Applied Statistics, will manage ANU's end of the deal.
Mr Rice said four Australian universities had actuarial departments but ANU had a strong brand and impressive teaching. Three of Rice Walker's actuaries trained there.