Description: This research summarizes interviews of individuals 85+ years old, looking at how habits and behaviors from earlier in life affect the later years of retirement.

Description: A research project defining relevant and actionable consumer segments among middle-income/mid-level net worth households.

Description: The objective of the Phase I research effort was to further the Committee’s work by defining relevant and actionable consumer segments among middle-income / mid-level net worth households. This report updates the Phase 1 analysis using data through 2010.

Description: This report presents the results of six focus groups with retirees who have at least $100,000 of investable assets and must depend on that money to maintain their lifestyles because they do not have sufficient amounts of annuitized income from Social Security and defined benefit plans to meet all of their expenses. The purpose of the focus groups was to gain an understanding of how current retirees approach key financial decisions about managing their money in retirement. The benefits of this qualitative study are multidisciplinary. It can help: 1. actuaries design better retirement financial systems, 2. the financial services industry understand areas of misperception and causes of poor management, and 3. provide policy-makers an understanding of how to drive public policy goals.

Description: Post-Retirement Experiences of Individuals Retired for 15 Years or More

Description: This survey was conducted by the Society of Actuaries to uncover how the continuing rise in healthcare costs is affecting consumers’ retirement planning, particularly for pre-retirees ages 50-64. This fact sheet presents key findings.

Description: This is the Phase II report of a two–phase effort. The Phase I report, released in March 2009, consists of defining relevant and actionable consumer segments among middle–income/mid–level net worth households. This Phase II report defines a basic approach that could lead to a set of answers or 'solutions' that address the retirement risks faced by each segment. A second objective of Phase II is to provide insight regarding the nature of the retirement risks faced by varying segments of consumers and suggestions for solutions that address those risks.

Description: This report provides an overview of post-retirement risks, how they are perceived, and ways to protect against them. It presents key findings on the major retirement risks explored in the 2009 Retirement Risk Survey and provides context for the results in relation to other studies.

Description: This study builds on the prior studies, Measures of Retirement Benefit Adequacy and Improving Retirement Outcomes: Timing, Phasing, and Benefit Claiming, with a specific focus on how longevity impacts household financial needs in retirement and which strategies can best address these financial strains. A major conclusion from this research is that the risk of living long should be more carefully incorporated in household retirement planning.