Description: This is a web page containing links to papers presented at the Retirement 20/20 conference held in Washington, D.C. on November 17 & 18, 2008.

Description: The article describes the factors that should determine the asset allocation of an employer's QDIA, especially Target Date Funds, and suggests that in general QDIAs have insufficient equity in retirement asset allocations.

Description: Discussion of LTC insurance product developments being spurred by recent demographic and regulatory trends, especially combination products such as LTC benefits with disability income, annuities, and life insurance. Several viable product styles are considered, along with the pros and cons of each.

Description: In this paper the researchers analyze pension plans for three countries (Canada, the UK, and the US) using an ESG that includes a demographic ratio that has been defined consistently for all countries. In that regard the paper extends the literature and opens areas for future research.

Description: This research report investigates the mechanics and practicalities of introducing retirement investment income tontines (RITs) in today’s market place.

Description: This paper presents a stochastic model in continuous time to characterize the ultimate benefit to be derived by a group of similar workers from their career membership in pension plans. This characterization is in terms of termination rates, vesting rules, plan types and periods of employment. The employment termination pattern is represented by a renewal process and a reward function is introduced to unify different plan types. A number of basic functions are then deduced to represent termination benefits, retirement benefits and the loss due to delayed vesting. An analysis of these functions lead to a number of conclusions regarding the comparative effects of delayed vesting in different plans. From Actuarial Research Clearing House 1981, Vol. 1.

Description: Employers who offer financial wellness programs that help younger employees plan for major life events could see improved employee retirement preparedness.

Description: Many retirement actuaries have experience developing, implementing, and monitoring Liability Driven Investing (LDI) strategies for plan sponsors. These strategies typically involve modifying a plan’s investment strategy to remove a significant portion of the investment and interest rate risk now or at some point in the future when specific triggers are met. The tactics often involve the use of fixed income assets to cash flow and/or duration match the liabilities. In the spirit of helping actuaries expand their roles in an evolving defined contribution world, this article explores the application of LDI and derisking strategies within defined contribution and individual retirement accounts. The economic theory behind this approach is called the lifecycle hypothesis, or lifecycle finance. The benefits of the lifecycle finance method are that it provides a safe approach to save for retirement and a secure source of floor income during retirement. Similar to pension plans, each individual has his or her own idiosyncratic needs, wants, and risks that should be considered. Actuaries are uniquely situated to help defined contribution plan sponsors, individuals, and even themselves implement the lifecycle finance approach by developing and distributing tools and methods that focus on income (rather than wealth), LDI strategies, and personalization.

Description: update on the activities of the pension section section council

Description: An interview with the director of research at International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans