I am truly honored to serve as the inaugural Chairperson of the SOA Retirement Practice Community (RPC) for 2025–26. The RPC, born from the merger of the former Retirement Section and the Social Insurance & Public Finance Section, has become the global home for actuaries passionate about pensions, annuities, pension risk transfers, public programs, longevity, and shaping the future of retirement security.
I am deeply grateful for the trust placed in me by my fellow RPC advisory team members and am energized to lead this incredible team focused on three big goals:
- Pioneering Research: Collaborating with the brightest minds and global thought leaders to design tomorrow’s retirement systems.
- Providing next-level continuing education: Delivering cutting-edge learning opportunities to keep you ahead of every industry trend.
- Engaging short form shareable content: Creating dynamic, bite-sized insights that land in your inbox and light up your LinkedIn feed—tailored for the modern actuary.
By way of background, I began my career at a Big 4 financial accounting firm in New York and currently work in the New York area for a large, global consulting firm. Over the past 30 years, I have had the privilege of supporting both public and private sector pension stakeholders.
Together, we are building a vibrant community that drives innovation and redefines the future of retirement. I look forward to this exciting journey with all of you.
Meet Your 2025 RPC Advisory Team
We are thrilled to welcome four exceptional new voices and leaders to the RPC: Julian Robinson, Paul Angelo, Isaac Larbi and Paul Donahue. Their expertise and fresh perspectives will undoubtedly enrich our community.
Joining them are twelve accomplished leaders returning for another year of impactful service: Bruce Schobel (Vice Chairperson), Tom Vicente (Content and Engagement Work Group Manager), Grant Martin (Research Manager), Joel Albers, Chris Giese, Gregory Fann, Piotr Krekora, Mark Shemtob, Michael Stephens, James Stewart, Jeff Williams, and me.
A heartfelt thank you goes to our departing members—Alicia Traviss, Jaime Sloat, Jeff Passmore, Sudha Shenoy, and Khurram Taufiq—whose wisdom, dedication and contributions have left an indelible mark on our field. We hope to stay connected with you through our subgroup initiatives.
Finally, none of this would be possible without the unwavering support of the SOA’s incredible team: Ladelia Berger, Carla Eisenberg, and Katelyn Kramer. Their tireless efforts keep us aligned with the latest SOA initiatives and resources, ensuring our continued success.
What Is New in the Retirement Practice Community?
We are excited to announce that the RPC launches this year with four vibrant subgroups, each led by a dedicated leader and support team committed to delivering the content and connections you need:
- Private Retirement Programs
- Public Retirement Programs
- Multi-Employer Programs
- Retirement Practice Research
Every subgroup has a clear mission: to foster meaningful discussions and deliver fresh, focused content directly to our Community Content & Engagement Work Group Manager. This includes webcasts, newsletter articles, topic calls, podcasts, and more. For the 2025–2026 cycle, we aim to produce six high-impact pieces of content across all subgroups.
We are particularly excited to explore new content delivery methods, such as short-form video, designed to resonate with the next generation of actuaries.
Moreover, each subgroup will pitch and present cutting-edge topics for the SOA’s flagship conferences, such as ValAct and ImpACT. But that’s not all—the RPC subgroups will have the flexibility to introduce new event formats which spark cross-practice collaboration and challenge the status quo. Stay tuned—big things are on the horizon.
Connect with the RPC
We are thrilled to invite passionate volunteers—no election required—to join our subgroup projects, trigger lively discussions, craft fresh content, and help grow our network. If this sounds like you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me or any member of the SOA RPC Advisory Team. We would love to have you on board.
Be sure to keep an eye out for more frequent RPC publications, along with a full lineup of SOA webcasts, podcasts, and bite-sized content dropping throughout 2026. Everything you need is just a click away on the new SOA Retirement Practice Community website.
Lastly, a heartfelt thank you to every member of the Retirement Practice Community Advisory Team for entrusting me to lead our community this year. Together, I am confident that we will accomplish something truly remarkable.
This article is provided for informational and educational purposes only. Neither the Society of Actuaries nor the respective authors’ employers make any endorsement, representation or guarantee with regard to any content, and disclaim any liability in connection with the use or misuse of any information provided herein. This article should not be construed as professional or financial advice. Statements of fact and opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors and are not necessarily those of the Society of Actuaries or the respective authors’ employers.
Christopher Teh, FSA, CFA, EA, MAAA, is a director and consulting actuary at Gallagher. He can be reached at christopher_teh@ajg.com.