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: 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

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

Description: This article provides a basic introduction to the taxation of qualified annuities held in qualified retirement plans and IRAs. The article has been updated for the SECURE Act and the SECURE 2.0 Act. The article describes the basic types of employer-based plans, provides of overview of the taxation of contributions and benefits when annuities are held in connection with plans and IRAs, explains the required minimum distribution rules, and offers a brief introduction to recent legislation impacting qualified annuities.

Description: This panel discussion session focuses on the impact of double-digit inflation on pension plans including the impact on assumptions, design, prefunding of post-retirement indexing and prefunding of flat benefit plans. From Record of Society of Actuaries 1980, Vol. 6, No. 4.

Description: This paper examines the current presence of more females in the work force, and the Social Security/retirement issues that are raised by this trend. From Retirement Implications of Demographic and Family Change Symposium Monograph, M-RS02-2.

Description: This article highlights the world's fastest growing economy market, China, focuses on its private pension market. Hidden in the backdrop of China’s rapid growth lurks an aging population, a result of China’s one-child policy and the improved longevity of its people. The “4-2-1” phenomenon, characterized by a family structure of four grandparents, two parents, and a single child, is becoming more prevalent. While this aging society is not immediately apparent—in fact, many multinational companies employ a young workforce, with very few grey-haired employees—a demographic shift is inevitable. From Pension Section News, September 2006, No. 62.

Description: The article endorses broader use of lifetime income in DC plans. It explains why the use of DB plans will continue to decline. The article points out that plans sponsors will not willingly take on additional ERISA fiduciary exposure. The article endorses three regulatory reforms that would increase the use of lifetime income in DC plans. 1. A robust annuity issuer safe harbor that would free employers from fiduciary exposure for putting an annuity provider on the DC platform. 2. A requirement that a plan offer a lifetime income option to qualify for the 404(c) safe harbor. 3. A revision to 404(c) to allow plan sponsors to allocate part or all of the employer match to lifetime income.