Description: This essay talks about gender differences that affect retirement security and reviews lessons from SOA research. It provides advice for women including traps to avoid. Issues consider include differences in life spans, widowhood, divorce, differences in care patterns and caregiving.

Description: Comments on Robert North’s paper, a real case study of disclosing MVL in a public employee retirement system.

Description: This article discusses the risk of declining market cap with large pension obligations and focuses on the pension risk from the standpoint of different companies. Specifically, we’ll examine risk based on the relative size of the pension obligation to the market capitalization of the plan sponsor. From Pension Section News, September 2006, No. 62.

Description: Sponsors of DB plans are being forced to focus on their plans as never before. A confluence of events—market downturn, aging workforce and changing legislation/regulation—has meant the status quo no longer applies to companies’ DB plans.

Description: Protecting oneself in older age from risks is the sine qua non of retirement planning. But far too many people don’t approach retirement (or retirement planning) well. From a policy perspective, we know about half the senior population will have some sort of long-term care event. We need to recognize that long-term care risk is a component not just of aging but of retirement. Placing long term care solutions in the retirement space is critical to reaching the bulk of the population. Combined with the additional element—recognition of risk—this would be both a powerful protection but also a natural one for individuals to understand.

Description: Response to David Kausch’s comments on the paper.

Description: Provides an overview of several EBRI studies on spending by older Americans and brings together with Society of Actuaries research on shocks in retirement.

Description: A response to the comments on the paper.

Description: This essay explores the role that the emerging defined contribution retirement system may be playing in the growth of wealth inequality in the United States. The current system leaves many Americans with little or no retirement savings. Those with higher accumulation levels appear to invest proportionally more in equities, which may have an exponential effect of balances over long time periods. The author hypothesizes that willingness to take investment risk involves the relationship between the amount an investor has accumulated and what she/he needs in order to cover basic costs of living. This is one reason that investors with greater accumulation levels may be able to earn higher rates of return. The essay concludes by suggesting that the U.S. defined contribution system should include all workers and provide additional fiduciary guidance. Examples reforms, both in the U.S. and other countries, are provided.

Description: Argues that most retirees face multiple financial risks that need to be considered simultaneously so that limited resources can be applied in a manner that is rational and satisfying. A specific procedure for developing such an individualized risk strategy is described.