Planning your financial future is about to undergo a revolutionary change which will put a greater responsibility for your financial well-being in your hands.
The extent of the revolution was unveiled at the annual convention of the Institute of Life and Pension Advisers, which represents the most highly qualified group of financial advisers in the country.
The underlying theme of the convention was the radical change that the financial services industry is under-going, driven by fundamental changes in retirement provision, the demand for greater information and more control by individuals over their affairs.
The days of the "nanny" government and the "nanny" employer looking after you from the cradle to the grave are well-nigh over.
Speakers warned that if you have a job, the government does not have the money to help you and your employer no longer wants the responsibility.
The change is being facilitated by the computer age. Instead of the "one-size-fits-all" approach of the past you can now be kitted out exactly to your needs.
But from now on you will have to make sure your employment and retirement fund "attire" is properly designed for you so that you are not left floundering financially naked in a sea of poverty.
And the responsibility for your future financial security will start with your very first pay cheque.
From then on you will have to check, and if necessary adapt your structures according to changes in your life, such as marriage and children, to ensure you are still on the right course.
Chris Newell, president of the Institute of Retirement Funds, told the convention that increasingly choices will be given to employees in two main areas:
* The design of their overall employment package; and
* The design of their retirement benefits.
Newell said increasingly a "cafeteria system" of packages will be introduced with an overall cost to your employer.
Your "cafeteria" package will be individually designed to meet your income, savings and tax needs.
Newell said the elements will be made up of a number of components such as actual salary paid; motor vehicle benefits; housing subsidies; provision for education for your children; the level of health benefits as well as retirement benefits, and contributions to provisions for death and disability.
"The key to the cafeteria approach is to fix the overall level of the package but allow flexibility within the different components to allow an employee to select a particular benefit set."
Newell said employees would probably soon be able, within limits, to make on-going adjustments to their benefits package via computer terminals.
For example, you could increase your retirement fund contributions, automatically reducing the cash you receive as a salary every month while retaining the same overall "cash' package.
Speakers at the convention said this flexibility is already available in investment products currently on the market where you can alter investment planning almost at the click of a button by switching your assets between different types of investments and even companies in a way unimaginable a few years ago.
It was repeatedly emphasised at the convention that you and the financial planners who advise you, will need considerably more skills to ensure that the opportunities are properly exploited at the lowest risk to your hard-earned savings.