The Pension Section Council recently performed a SWOT analysis of the Pension Section. See what the council identified as the strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities for the section.

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Actuaries are assumed to be experts in mortality and longevity-related issues. Andrew Peterson discussed the opportunities and challenges that come along with that assumption for actuaries and what the SOA is doing to focus on these issues.

The Committee on Post-Retirement Needs and Risks has created 11 decision briefs, each one laying out a decision area and offering key considerations to help individuals plan for retirement. Anna Rappaport provides an overview of these decision briefs.

The chair of the Pension Section's Continuing Education Team gives a glimpse into her three days at the SOA Annual Meeting.

The Actuarial Standards Board is considering an amendment to Actuarial Standard of Practice No. 27, Selection of Economic Assumptions for Measuring Pension Obligations. A summary of the Annual Meeting panel discussion on the proposed change is provided.

This article describes the long-run decline in labor force participation of men, the turnaround that began in the mid-1980s, and the trends for women.

The SOA recently published a monograph in response to a Call for Papers from the Pension Section. In this new monograph, authors turn their attention to retirement issues facing individuals and families in the New Economy.

In light of the importance of the annuity framing issue, the Society of Actuaries commissioned a major study to see how different kinds of information might influence the decision to purchase an annuity in an experimental setting. Sandy Mackenzie provides a review of the resulting report.