Description: Asia is experiencing changing demographic, social, and cultural tides which threaten to submerge existing retirement-pension systems.

Description: Asia is experiencing changing demographic, social, and cultural tides which threaten to submerge existing retirement-pension systems.

Description: View the complete issue for the August 2014 Reinsurance News newsletter.

Description: The 2006 Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation PBGC Annual Performance and Accountability Report and the 2006 Annual Report of the PBGC each contain a summary of the results of the Sept. 30, 2006 actuarial valuation. The purpose of the separate Actuarial Valuation Report is to provide greater detail concerning the valuation of future benefits than is presented in PBGC's Annual Report.

Description: "Issues surrounding end-of-life and palliative care are not well understood and there is little research in the actuarial literature. From an actuarial perspective, however, end-of-life is important because of the significant cost to the healthcare system. Ian Duncan will discuss some of his research on the financial implications of end-of-life care, as well as the outcomes of a palliative care program. Dr. Matzo is an engaging personality with decades of experience in gerontology and palliative nursing, including training and teaching professionals in the field. Dr. Matzo focuses on educating the public on the importance and benefits of palliative care and hospice (care given in the final six months of life). In this session on “Palliative Care Public Education,” Dr. Matzo will give us an overview of the benefits of palliative care and how this knowledge empowers the individual to make important decisions about their healthcare options. Attendees will have the opportunity to discuss the role that the actuarial profession may play in this area."

Description: "Weighted compositional data analysis for modeling and forecasting life-table death counts – Han Lin Shang, Ph.D., Professor of Business Analytics and Director of Research at the Department of Actuarial Studies and Business Analytics at Macquarie Business School, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia, Steven Haberman, PhD, Bayes Business School, City University of London, UK Compensation Effect of Mortality as a Challenge to Life Extension – Natalia S. Gavrilova, Ph.D., Leonid A. Gavrilov, Ph.D. Academic Research Centers, NORC at the University of Chicago"

Description: Explore the use of conjoint analysis to understand what employees say they want and/or need in a retirement plan in newly released research material sponsored by the SOA’s Retirement Section. Retirement plans of the past were defined as a benefit or a defined contribution in nature with their attendant features. As today’s hybrid plan designs consider features of the two historical archetypes, this research methodology identifies which features of a retirement program are most important to employees. This research, coming from the SOA’s Aging and Retirement Strategic Research program, includes a tool for testing preferences for different combinations of features by different demographic groups (age, income, gender, race/ethnicity, etc.) By attending the webcast, you will be able to understand: What conjoint analysis is and how it works. Which features of retirement programs are most important to employees. How to use a tool to compare the importance of features for different demographic groups. How to use a tool to compare the level of acceptance of different retirement packages for various demographic groups. Come look at alternative plan designs (either inside or outside of what is possible today) to better understand how employees in different situations are likely to respond to the design combinations.

Description: The pension risk transfer (PRT) market has increasingly expanded to include the complexity of deferred participants who have additional options that do not exist for a retiree already receiving their benefit. Assumptions on the timing of benefit commencement and form of payment elected are highly dependent on specific pension plan provisions and the census population. These assumptions can have significant impact on the reserves and cash flows affecting not only the initial price but the future profitability of the deal and require a balance of both pension experience and annuity pricing. Learn about considerations for assumptions fit for purpose from pension actuaries working in the PRT market and who specialize in the assumption setting process for deferred lives.

Description: The SOA Research Institute conducted an online survey of 1,000 U.S. respondents who are actively saving for both their retirement and a family member’s or friend’s college education. The results offer a better understanding of the challenges families face. Read the report for detailed findings or peruse the infographic for an overview.

Description: The Society of Actuaries’ Aging and Retirement Strategic Research Program is pleased to make available a summary report that highlights key findings from the latest biennial survey, Risks and Process of Retirement. The survey, the eleventh in the series, was conducted online of Americans ages 45 to 80. The purpose of the study is to evaluate Americans’ awareness of potential financial risks in retirement, how this awareness impacts the management of their finances with respect to retirement, and how Americans are managing the process of leaving the workforce. The survey was conducted by Mathew Greenwald & Associates, Inc. The full report of findings is forthcoming and will be posted soon. Additionally, several special topics reports examining aspects of the findings will be posted as they become available.