Aging and Retirement Research Reports
If you’re looking for research projects and reports on retirement and aging, you’ve come to the right place. The SOA offers a variety of research from the Committee on Post-Retirement Needs and Risks.
Summary Handout of Recent Retirement Research (August 2019)
2021
- Fintech and the Retirement Savings System
January
The Aging and Retirement and Actuarial Innovation and Technology Strategic Research Programs are pleased to make available a report that provides a sampling of new financial technologies (fintech) and their applications related to retirement savings systems affecting participants, plan sponsors and service providers.
2020
- Impact of COVID-19 on Retirement
December
This page includes all retirement related material on COVID-19. - Thinking Ahead: Informing the Design of a Roadmap for Keeping Your Money Safe as You Age
October
The Aging and Retirement Strategic Research Program is pleased to make available a report summarizing the research phase of a multi-phase project leading to publication of a Conversation Guide to plan for changes in financial capacity and decision-making. - Redefining the Goal of Retirement Planning – Essay Collection
October
The Society of Actuaries’ Aging and Retirement Strategic Research Program is pleased to release a collection of essays in response to a call for essays aimed to gather perspectives, opinions and data on how to advance the state of effective retirement planning to assist individuals, actuaries, financial advisors, employers, and other stakeholders. - 2019 Risks and Process of Retirement Survey
August
The Society of Actuaries’ Aging and Retirement Strategic Research Program is pleased to make available material highlighting important findings for the biennial survey, Risks and Process of Retirement. - Products, Tools, and Strategies that Address Retirement Risks – Essay Collection
May
The Society of Actuaries’ Aging and Retirement Strategic Research Program is pleased to release a collection of essays aimed to gather perspectives, opinions and data on how to advance the state of effective retirement planning tools, products, and strategies to assist individuals, financial advisors, employers, and other stakeholders. - Managing Post-Retirement Risks: Strategies for a Secure Retirement (Risk Chart)
May
The Society of Actuaries’ Aging and Retirement Strategic Research Program is pleased to make available the fourth edition of the retirement risk chart. This chart provides information for consumers and other audiences on retirement risks and strategies for managing these risks. - Understanding and Managing Post-Retirement Risks
February
The Society of Actuaries is pleased to make available a series of reports highlighting the SOA’s extensive body of research on post-retirement risks and issues.
2019
- Retirement Literacy
August
The Society of Actuaries Aging and Retirement Strategic Research Program and Financial Finesse are pleased to make available a series of briefs focused on retirement literacy issues. - Life Journey Study
August
The Society of Actuaries’ Aging & Retirement Strategic Research Program is pleased to make available the first of two reports focused on how families cope with the final years of life by interviewing the children of recently deceased parents. - Viability of the Spend Safely in Retirement Strategy
July
The Society of Actuaries’ Committee on Post Retirement Needs and Risks is pleased to make available a research report that explores various design and implementation details for the Spend Safely in Retirement Strategy (SSiRS). This strategy is intended to be used by middle-income workers and retirees to generate retirement income from IRAs and employer-sponsored defined contribution retirement plans. - Family Structure, Roles and Dynamics Linked to Retirement Security – Essay Collection
June
The Society of Actuaries (SOA) Committee on Post-Retirement Needs and Risks is pleased to present this essay collection, which shares thoughts and opinions on the current and potential impact that structure, roles and dynamics of families have on retirement security in the United States. - Insights on Spending and Asset Management in Retirement
May
The Society of Actuaries (SOA) is pleased to make available a report summarizing key points made during an online discussion through the SOA’s Aging & Retirement Strategic Research Program and issues related to spending in retirement, asset management and the use of Qualified Longevity Annuity Contracts (QLAC). - 2017 Retirement Risk Survey
March
The SOA Committee on Post Retirement Needs and Risks is pleased to make available the full report, an overview report, and other reports highlighting important findings for the biennial survey, Risks and Process of Retirement.
2018
- Modeling and Forecasting Chinese Population Dynamics in a Multi-Population Context
December
The purpose of this project is to forecast China's population structure in the coming decades by projecting both the mortality and fertility rates of the Chinese population. In particular, we forecast China's future mortality rates in a multiple-population context, by explicitly allowing its systematic mortality patterns to gradually converge to those of a group of more developed countries with higher life expectancy levels and better data quality. - A Conversation on Dementia and Cognitive Decline
December
The Society of Actuaries (SOA) is pleased to make available a report summarizing key points made during an online discussion through the SOA’s Aging & Retirement Strategic Research Program and issues related to dementia and cognitive decline. Participants included actuaries, retirement researchers, financial advisors, attorneys, economists, and financial writers. - The Sightlines Project – Seeing Our Way to Financial Security in the Age of Increased Longevity
November
The Society of Actuaries (SOA) is pleased to make available research material from the Stanford Center on Longevity (SCL). The SOA was one of several sponsors of this report that focuses on predictions of financial security at different life stages using pertinent findings from the earlier Sightlines report on financial security. - Securing Future Retirements Essay Collection
May
The Society of Actuaries (SOA) Committee on Post-Retirement Needs and Risks is pleased to present this essay collection, which shares thoughts and opinions on how to advance the state of effective planning strategies, products and employee benefit plan structures to help secure future retirements. - 2017 Retirement Risk Survey
May
The SOA Committee on Post Retirement Needs and Risks is pleased to make available the full report, an overview report, and other reports highlighting important findings for the biennial survey, Risks and Process of Retirement. - Post-Retirement Experiences of Individuals 85+ Years Old
May
The Society of Actuaries’ Committee on Post Retirement Needs and Risks is pleased to make available two research reports on post-retirement experiences of individuals 85+ years old. The study seeks to understand how the habits and behaviors from earlier in life played out in the later years of retirement. - Understanding and Managing Post-Retirement Risks
April
The Society of Actuaries is pleased to make available a series of reports highlighting the SOA’s extensive body of research on post-retirement risks and issues.
2017
- Optimizing Retirement Income by Integrating Retirement Plans, IRAs, and Home Equity
December
The Society of Actuaries’ Committee on Post Retirement Needs and Risks and the Retirement Section are pleased to make available a report providing a framework of analyses and methods that various stakeholders can use to compare and assess strategies for developing lifetime retirement income. - Living to 100 Monograph
September
Access the monograph on longevity and retirement from the SOA Living to 100 Symposium.
2016
- Diverse Risks Essays Collection
April - The Future of Retirement in China
March - How Americans Manage Their Finances – Results of the Financial Management Survey
January - 2015 Retirement Risk Survey
January - Post-Retirement Experiences of Individuals Retired for 15 Years or More
January
2015
- 2015 Presentation to the Gerontological Society of Actuaries: The Link Between Retirement Security and Long-Term Care
November - Investment and Retirement Advice – A Guide for Employers
November - 2015 Presentation to the Chicago Actuarial Association: Post-Retirement Needs and Risks: What Do We Really Know?
October - Optimal Retirement Income Solutions in DC Retirement Plan
July
2014
- Models of Financial Advice for Retirement Plans: Considerations for Plan Sponsors
December - Managing the Impact of Long-Term Care Needs and Expense on Retirement Security
December - Foundations in Research for Regulatory Guidelines on the Design & Operation of Retirement Income Solutions in DC Plans
September - 2014 Living to 100 Symposium
January
2013
- 2013 Retirement Risk Survey
November- Full Report
Key Findings and Issues-Understanding and Managing the Risks of Retirement
Key Findings and Issues - Experiencing Change in Retirement
Key Findings and Issues - Personal Risk Management
Key Findings and Issues – Impact of Retirement Risk on Women
Material Related to the Report on Impact of Retirement Risk on Women
Presentation of the Retirement Risk Survey and Focus Groups
- Full Report
- The Next Evolution in Defined Contribution Retirement Plan Design – A Guide for DC Plan Sponsors to Implementing Retirement Income Programs
September - The Decision to Retire and Post-Retirement Financial Strategies: A Report on Eight Focus Groups
September - Middle Market Retirement: Approaches for Retirees and Near-Retirees
March - Segmenting the Middle Market: Retirement Risks and Solutions-Phase 1 Report Update to 2010 Data
January
2012
- Approaching the Underserved Middle-Market: Insights from Planners
December - Two Surveys: Understanding and Managing Retirement Risks in Canada and the United States
December - Running Out of Money in Retirement
November - MetLife Study of Family Structure and Financial Well-Being
September - Managing Retirement Decisions
January - Helping People Make Better Retirement Decisions: Resources from the SOA–Webcast for RIIA
January
2011
- 2011 Presentation to the Actuarial Society of Greater New York: Deeper Dive into Post Retirement Risk: Important Research about Retirement
November - The Financial Recovery for Retirees Continues
November - Retirement Risks and Solutions in the Middle Market–RIIA Webinar
March - 2011 Retirement Risk Survey
March - Understanding Longevity: What to Tell Your Clients
February - Retirement Security in the New Economy: Paradigm Shifts, New Approaches and Holistic Strategies
February - 2011 Living to 100 Symposium
January
2010
- Housing in Retirement Round Table
September - Segmenting the Middle Market: Retirement Risks and Solutions–Phase 2 Report
September
2009
- Retirement Planning Software and Post-Retirement Risks
December - Housing in Retirement Monograph
September - What a Difference a Year Makes
July - Segmenting the Middle Market: Retirement Risks and Solutions–Phase 1 Report
April - Will Retirement Assets Last a Lifetime?
March - 2009 Retirement Risk Survey
March
2008
- 2008 Living to 100 Symposium
January
2007
- Needs and Spending in Retirement: Unraveling the Mystery
October - Perspectives on Retirement Planning and Consumption
October - Roundtable on Lifecycle Model Transcript
September - 2007 Retirement Risk Survey
May - Public Misperceptions About Retirement Security Closing the Gaps
April
2006
2005
- 2005 Retirement Risk Survey
March - Public Misperceptions About Retirement Security
February - 2005 Living to 100 Symposium
January
2004
2003
- Retirement Implications of Demographic and Family Change
June - Retirement Planning Software
January - 2003 Retirement Risk Survey
January
2002
- Economic Security for an Aging Canadian Population
July - Retirement Needs Framework
July - The Old-Age Crisis - Actuarial Opportunities
July - 2002 Living to 100 Symposium
January
2001
- 2001 Retirement Risk Survey
February
Other Resources
Living to 100
Living to 100 is a research effort which includes a triennial international research symposium.