Description: The author presents an overview of the Conference and highlights the controversy and discussion about the appropriate ways to measure assets and Liabilities for public sector pension plans. From the Pension Section News, September 2008, Issue No. 68.

Description: This report provides background on U.S. trends in the timing of retirement, the claiming of benefits behavior, including discussion of labor force participation trends, the timing of commencement of Social Security, phased retirement alternatives, work as part of retirement, and the effects of retirement plan participation on these decisions. This study evaluates several of the more common retirement timing and claiming strategies using a retirement simulation model that incorporates investment, inflation, health and long-term care risks. Results of these simulations provide insight into the comparative risk exposures and costs of various retirement timing and claiming strategies for typical retiree households.

Description: This report provides background on U.S. trends in the timing of retirement, the claiming of benefits behavior, including discussion of labor force participation trends, the timing of commencement of Social Security, phased retirement alternatives, work as part of retirement, and the effects of retirement plan participation on these decisions. This study evaluates several of the more common retirement timing and claiming strategies using a retirement simulation model that incorporates investment, inflation, health and long-term care risks. Results of these simulations provide insight into the comparative risk exposures and costs of various retirement timing and claiming strategies for typical retiree households.

Description: This study builds on the prior studies, Measures of Retirement Benefit Adequacy and Improving Retirement Outcomes: Timing, Phasing, and Benefit Claiming, with a specific focus on how longevity impacts household financial needs in retirement and which strategies can best address these financial strains. A major conclusion from this research is that the risk of living long should be more carefully incorporated in household retirement planning.

Description: This article is about a 1997 conference titled, 'Integrated Approaches to Risk Measurement in the Financial Services Industry,' that brought together a diverse group of 84 professionals, including actuaries and others working in risk measurement and management. That conference, sponsored jointly by the SOA’s finance practice area and Investment Section, was important in helping the profession advance the work of risk measurement.

Description: This paper will focus on default distributions and why they are important.

Description: The abstract for a paper that focuses on default distributions and why they are important.

Description: One of the significant changes for Baby Boomers approaching retirement has been the increased responsibility placed on individuals to make more decisions and take additional personal responsibility for their retirement planning. At the 2008 Society of Actuaries Annual Meeting, the authors presented a session focused on key decisions that individuals must make as they plan for retirement. This article summarizes the presentation at that session from two perspectives: that of an actuary, and that of a financial planner/wealth manager.

Description: This 1981 discussion session is about public social policies and their impact on public and private retirement plans in the United States and Canada. The key issues discussed pertain to age, sex and marital status, and income level. Also discussed is the possible impact of public social policies on future trends in disability benefits, death benefits, termination benefits, and other factors in private and public retirement plans.