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Aging and Retirement Issues for LGBTQ+ People

Overview

In 2020, the Society of Actuaries (SOA) began a major organizational initiative to dedicate a portion of its ongoing research efforts to exploring actuarial issues relevant to LGBTQ+ people. Topics that fall under these research efforts include, as examples, retirement security, access to health care and outcomes of health care services, access to long-term care, and social determinants of life expectancy and health morbidity.

As part of this initiative, the SOA’s Aging and Retirement Strategic Research Program is interested in a broad exploration of issues related to aging and retirement for LGBTQ+ people. In issuing this call for essays, the Program aims to gather perspectives, opinions and data on the short and long-term consequences of applicable aging and retirement issues for a variety of stakeholders -- individuals, partners, family members, employers, financial advisors, and others --- and how these impacts may be felt both directly and indirectly.

A primary aspect of this call for essays is to explore how retirement-related outcomes are experienced by LGBTQ+ people and the diversity of experiences within this group. Another aspect is to promote enhanced understanding of the underlying issues surrounding these differences. In this regard, there is interest in furthering understanding from an informational perspective and/or generating ideas for potential solutions and improvements.

Given the continuing desire for the SOA to provide the latest information about these issues, essays will be published as soon as possible after review with a plan to publish a formal collection in fall 2022.

Content

The following questions are examples of ideas or issues for respondents to consider in crafting essays with an LGBTQ+ focus. Authors may address these issues or issues they consider more relevant for a particular group or more generally among different groups. The list below is neither exhaustive nor intended to be restrictive of other related areas of aging and retirement:

  • What, if any, are the differences in retirement experiences between LGBTQ+ people and other demographic groups? Do levels of satisfaction in retirement vary between LGBTQ+ people and other demographic groups? Similarly, are there any differences in retirement experiences among LGBTQ+ people from different race and ethnic groups?
  • How does access, or lack thereof, to health care or long-term care services affect LGBTQ+ people in terms of retirement preparedness and affordability? What about situations where there is access, but facilities are unwelcoming?
  • What is the impact of under/unemployment, particularly in the face of COVID-19, on retirement security of LGBTQ+ people?
  • Are there substantial (meaningful) differences between LGBTQ+ married couples and LGBTQ+ non-married couples (partners) in how, when, and under what circumstances they make decisions about significant life events such as retirement (including saving for retirement), drafting wills, naming beneficiaries, giving powers of attorney, end-of-life instructions and care, etc.?
  • What issues about life planning are especially salient for LGBTQ+ couples—both married and unmarried? How do the issues differ by marital status among LGBTQ+ individuals and couples (LGBTQ+ v. non-LGBTQ+)?
  • How do LGBTQ+ people (especially unmarried) deal with unaccepting family members, particularly at end of life and estate planning? For example, some may have been estranged from birth families and relied on “chosen” families.
  • Do LGBTQ+ people turn primarily to LGBTQ+ lawyers, doctors, financial planners, etc., if possible? How do LGBTQ+ individuals find and vet such professionals? What do LGBTQ+ lawyers and financial planners, in particular, see as the most pressing legal/financial matters that LGBTQ+ clients should deal with?
  • What is known about life planning (in the broadest sense) for LBGTQ+ people? For example, what types of planning/education/discussions about retirement saving, retiring, end-of-life care, final wishes, etc. should those who identify themselves as LBGTQ+, those in couple relationships and most particularly the non-married, be making? Is there research that indicates what LGBTQ+ individuals actually do in this regard and when, and what the outcome has been? What are the best sources for this type of information?
  • How do LGBTQ+ unmarried individuals ensure that final wishes (with respect to care while alive, funeral and burial matters, and disposition of assets) are carried out? Is there research that indicates a difference from non-LGBTQ+ unmarried individuals?
  • What issues must an older, non-partnered LGBTQ+ individual plan for with respect to important life decisions? What is known about actual planning done?
  • Are there any special issues for LGBTQ+ parents with children? Are the issues different by state, depending on state laws?
  • Are there special issues for LGBTQ+ blended families or for families who identified as LGBTQ+ after a number of years of opposite-sex marriage?
  • What role has discrimination played in the efforts of LGBTQ+ individuals to achieve a financially secure retirement? (This could include discrimination in getting hired, getting promoted, finding jobs that offer benefits including spousal benefits designed to promote security, finding the advisors, caregivers, care facilities etc. who will provide appropriate assistance, etc.)
  • Are there financial products and innovations that could be tailored for LGBTQ+ individuals/couples to better achieve a secure retirement?
  • What is the impact of differences between state/province laws and federal laws on LGBTQ+ marriages regarding social insurance and welfare programs, health care decisions, long-term care, etc.?

Timeline

The deadline for submissions is July 15, 2022. Essays will be published as soon as possible in a formal collection later in the year.

Length and Instructions for Submission

Essays must be submitted in English with a desired length of between 500 to 2,500 words. There is no requirement for formal or extensive footnoting.

Author information must be submitted with the essay and include name; credentials or designations (if appropriate); title; organization/company; e-mail address; and phone number. Please provide all author information at the beginning of the essay.

Essays that contain any overt political statements, commercial content, and other inappropriate material will not be accepted. Articles must comply with the SOA's antitrust guidelines.

Please submit your essay via e–mail to:

Barbara Scott, Sr. Research Administrator
Society of Actuaries
e–mail: bscott@soa.org

Awards

$10,000 in award money has been allocated for this call for essays. The review committee will select the leading essays and determine how to allocate the award money among them. Consideration will be given to creativity, originality and the extent to which an idea might help promote the financial and retirement security of LGBTQ+ individuals and couples. In exchange for award money, selected authors will be required to assign all copyrights in their essays to the Society of Actuaries.

Authors are ineligible for awards if an essay is based on an SOA-sponsored and funded research study conducted by the author. However, authors are welcome to submit such essays for publication consideration.

Publication and Presentation

Depending on how many essays are received and the range of the topic areas, a suitable format for electronic publication and dissemination will be selected. Essays may also be presented at an SOA meeting, webcast, or other professional development event.

In addition, other venues for publication or presentation of the ideas outside of the SOA will be considered. It is hoped that publication of the collected essays will further knowledge and stimulate discussion as well as promote future efforts in this area.

Rights Granted

Please understand that by submitting an essay for consideration, the essay author(s) is granting to the Society of Actuaries an unlimited license to print or republish their essay, with proper attribution given to the author(s).

Questions

Please direct any questions regarding this Call for Essays to:

Steven Siegel, Sr. Research Actuary
Society of Actuaries
e–mail: ssiegel@soa.org