Ten years of rewarding members

Retirement is one of life’s biggest milestones, and you want to reach it knowing you're financially secure. Did you know by paying your insurance premiums with Avant each year, you're also contributing to a potential retirement nest egg? Though not guaranteed, if you continue to hold an eligible policy with us, it will likely grow until you decide to retire.^#

Thanks to the Avant Retirement Reward Plan (RRP) over 61,000* members have an RRP notional balance. Your membership tenure, premiums, and Avant’s financial performance determine your allocation. 

We spoke with Dr Brindha Shivalingam, who has been with Avant for over 26 years, about her experience with RRP. Dr Shivalingam wasn’t aware of how the RRP worked or that she had accumulated a significant balance. “I had no prior knowledge of the RRP, and it was a lovely surprise to discover I have an RRP balance sitting there,” she says. 

Though she’s not planning to retire any time soon, she added, “I’ve started putting things in place, and the RRP dividend will certainly help with that — maybe even bring my retirement forward.” 

“I hadn’t considered how Avant could support my retirement.” 

Achieving milestones

Launched in 2014, Avant’s Retirement Reward Plan offers a unique benefit to eligible members by sharing the company’s financial success, aiming to distribute surplus capital as a dividend when members permanently retire from paid medical practice. 

As we celebrate ten years of the program, over $111 million has been paid out to 7,455 members or their estates. In October 2024, $18.6 million was paid to members who retired in the last financial year, or to their estates, and the Board contributed an additional $33.5 million to the plan — bringing the total contribution since inception to $529 million. 

Dr Shawn Richards, who first became an Avant member “way back in the late 1970s as an intern,” recalls the appeal of joining a mutual society. “It was good to know profits would go back to members.” 

Having retired at the end of last year after a 45-year career in medicine, Dr Richards is now making the most of his well-earned retirement. “The Retirement Reward Plan payment I received from Avant was a very unexpected and pleasant benefit of being a member of a mutual group. There’s a whole world out there I hadn’t had time to explore, and this will help fund some of our travel plans. I’m glad I didn’t just keep going until I was too old to enjoy it.” 

Even if you’re not ready to retire just yet, as an Avant member, your RRP balance continues to grow every year as you pay your medical indemnity and Doctors’ Health Fund premiums. You can view your balance in your renewal summary or by logging in to the Avant website. 

If you are thinking about retirement, the Planning for Retirement: what you need to know webpage has some helpful resources.