24 February 2026
2026 Advice Policy Summit Panel: The Silver Tsunami, Decumulation and Advice
At the February 2026 Professional Planner Advice Policy Summit in Canberra, an important gathering of stakeholders in the advice sector including advisers, super fund executives, government, regulators and thought leaders, Ignition Advice CEO Terry Donohoe joined The Silver Tsunami, Decumulation and Advice panel chaired by Dr David Bell, alongside Kelly Power, Ross Ackland and Adrian Aardoom.
Ignition Advice was proud to sponsor the Summit and contribute to this conversation. We thank Professional Planner and Conexus Financial for creating the space for stakeholders in advice to come together and have the tough conversations needed to drive better outcomes for the Australians who need advice the most.
Digital advice is the capacity solution
Digital advice technology is the only enabler that will allow a significant increase in system capacity. It is not possible to meaningfully increase the number of human advisers in the near term, or to increase the capacity of human advisers via deregulation. Digital advice is what will see advisers move from serving 120 clients per year to 300-400 and scale advice delivery. It is also the best approach to the Minister’s objective of improving consumer protection: digitally delivered advice offers complete transparency and a permanent record.
One advice engine, multiple experiences
The optimal model for institutions is a single advice engine that powers self-service, adviser-led and hybrid experiences, giving members choice while maintaining advice quality and consistency.
AI’s role: probabilistic and deterministic
AI’s role in the ecosystem is two-fold and understanding the distinction is important. Probabilistic AI has a powerful role in education and guidance, while a deterministic advice engine remains essential for regulated advice.
Where hybrid is delivering
Hybrid advice models — human advisers supported by digital advice technology — are where the real gains are happening, with well-deployed hybrid models reaching 85-90% success rates. This is well in excess of what human advisers typically achieve without the support of digital advice technology, which also allows human advisers to support many more members. This is what the scaling of retirement advice looks like in practice.
The drawdown inflection point
The inflection point into retirement drawdown remains one of the most complex moments of a member’s financial journey, and is one that should have a human adviser in the mix, supported by digital advice technology that enables scale, efficiency, transparency and consistency.
No single part of the advice ecosystem can solve the challenge of delivering advice to all who need it. The debate is sharper than ever, and all the right stakeholders were in the room. While regulatory reform may help at the margins, the solution doesn’t depend on it. Digital advice is being deployed today, at scale and safely.
The panel featured:
Terry Donohoe, Ignition Advice
Kelly Power, Colonial First State
Ross Ackland, AustralianSuper
Adrian Aardoom, Challenger
Dr David Bell, The Conexus Institute (panel moderator)
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For Ignition Advice media enquiries:
Natalie Kleibert, Head of Marketing. Email: natalie.kleibert@ignitionadvice.com