Life focuses on the retirement spending phase of superannuation by providing products that convert retirement savings into safe and secure income for life.

Challenger Life is Australia’s leading provider of annuities1. Our annuity products appeal to retirees as they provide security and certainty of guaranteed income while protecting against risks from market downturns and inflation. Lifetime annuities protect retirees from the risk of outliving their savings by paying guaranteed income for life.

The retirement incomes we pay are backed by a high-quality investment portfolio, predominantly invested in fixed income. These investments generate regular and predictable investment income we use to fund retirement incomes paid to our customers.

Life is a market leader in Australian retirement incomes, with a 75% annuity market share1, and has won the Association of Financial Advisers, Annuity Provider of the Year, for the last 12 years.

Challenger remains the dominant retirement income brand and is recognised by 93%2 of financial advisers as a leader in retirement incomes.

Life also has an annuity relationship with Mitsui Sumitomo Primary Life Insurance Company Limited, a leading provider of foreign currency annuities in Japan and a subsidiary of MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings Inc.

“This year has been challenging, with volatile investment markets and an uncertain economic outlook as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. We have responded by repositioning the investment portfolio to more defensive settings and raising equity to strengthen our capital position.”

Chris Plater – Chief Executive, Life

Life’s 2020 financial performance

Investment assets ($bn)

Value of assets managed by Life

Impacted by
pandemic related
market sell-off

Normalised EBIT 3 ($m)

Preferred measure of underlying business performance

Reflects lower returns
from more defensive
portfolio settings

  1. Plan For Life – March 2020 – based on annuities under administration at 31 March 2020.
  2. Market Pulse Adviser Study December 2019.
  3. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT).

Supporting our customers and business partners through the COVID-19 pandemic

Challenger is well placed to manage through the current market volatility and economic uncertainty

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented challenges to global economies and investment markets and has significantly impacted work practices.

Looking after the health of our people during this period has been a key business priority. Almost all our people have been working from home since mid-March.

Despite the difficult working environment, employees remain positive and confident in the Leadership Team’s ability to manage through the disruption.

Challenger has also been supporting its customers and business partners during this time. We helped our superannuation fund clients to provide members early access to their superannuation, supported advisers as they navigated the disrupted operating environment and are supporting our commercial property tenants with rental reductions or rental holidays.

Importantly, the pandemic and related market sell-off has had no impact on the payments we make to our annuity customers who have certainty and peace of mind during this time, knowing they have a guaranteed income stream in retirement, regardless of how investment markets perform.

  • STAT

    Employees positive
    about working
    from home4

  • STAT

    Great customer
    testimonials “annuity providing
    peace of mind”

  • STAT

    Advisers attending
    campaigns and
    webinars

  • STAT

    Supporting clients
    meet early
    superannuation
    withdrawal
    requirements

  • STAT

    Guaranteed annuity
    payments made to
    customers in FY20

Strengthening our capital position

Maintaining a strong capital position with flexibility to enhance returns

Investment market conditions have been extremely volatile with fixed income credit spreads widening significantly, domestic and global equity markets selling off and commercial property valuations reducing.

Throughout this period, we have actively managed Life’s investment portfolio and repositioned it to more defensive settings, which reduced capital intensity and increased our excess capital position. In order to further strengthen it, during a period of ongoing market volatility, a $270 million institutional equity placement together with a $35 million share purchase plan was undertaken.

In light of ongoing economic and market uncertainty, protecting the balance sheet is of the upmost importance, consequently the Board has decided it is prudent to not pay a final FY20 dividend.

Our strong capital position provides flexibility to withstand further market volatility.

Challenger Life Company (CLC) Limited excess regulatory capital and PCA ratio5


  1. Employee Pulse survey June 2020.
  2. PCA ratio represents total CLC Tier 1 and Tier 2 regulatory capital base divided by the Prescribed Capital Amount (PCA).
  3. CET1 ratio represents total CLC Common Equity Tier 1 regulatory capital base divided by the Prescribed Capital Amount