Description: This report presents the results of a 2003 telephone study among Americans ages 45 to 80. The purpose of the study was to evaluate Americans’ awareness of potential financial risks, how this awareness impacts the management of their finances with respect to retirement and how Americans are managing the process of leaving the workforce.

Description: This 1981 discussion session is about public social policies and their impact on public and private retirement plans in the United States and Canada. The key issues discussed pertain to age, sex and marital status, and income level. Also discussed is the possible impact of public social policies on future trends in disability benefits, death benefits, termination benefits, and other factors in private and public retirement plans.

Description: Elderly women living alone experience some of the highest poverty rates in the United States. One reason for their financial frailty is that they face more longevity risk than men. Existing financial products that can mitigate this risk are not attractive to many people. Can alternative vehicles for pooling longevity risk be developed outside the insurance market that would appeal to these individuals? This paper suggests some risk-pooling approaches and compares their effectiveness and viability.

Description: This paper focuses on the situation of women at high ages and the implications of longer life for women. This paper draws on and brings together work done by the Society of Actuaries in connection with the 2005 post-retirement risk survey, work from Social Security administration studies, U.S. government census data, WISER, the MetLife Mature Market Institute and papers funded by the Social Security research center.

Description: This article discusses two sets of blended by sex 1980 CSO mortality tables for use in determining minimum cash values and nonforfeiture benefits for life insurance policies issued in employee benefit plans which, because of the Norris decision, must provide equal benefits to men and women.

Description: This paper focuses on the situation of women at high ages and the implications of longer life for women. This paper draws on and brings together work done by the Society of Actuaries in connection with the 2005 post-retirement risk survey, work from Social Security administration studies, U.S. government census data, WISER, the MetLife Mature Market Institute and papers funded by the Social Security research center.

Description: Chapter 5 explores the data suggesting that not only is the mortality rate greater for men, but that the rate is greater for men at all age groups. From Why Men Die Younger: Causes of Mortality Differences by Sex, M-LI01-1.

Description: Chapter 8 states that there is great difficulty in projecting future mortality levels - the changing sex mortality differential is only one of the uncertainties. Some widely varying opinions for the future are offered. From Why Men Die Younger: Causes of Mortality Differences by Sex, M-LI01-1.

Description: Chapter 9 conclusions suggest that males have higher mortality throughout the world, at all ages, and for the vast majority of diseases. Evidence also suggests that there are significant biological reasons for the sex mortality differential, but these can be masked by environmental and behavioral factors. The author looks to the Human Genome Project for further understanding of this question. From Why Men Die Younger: Causes of Mortality Differences by Sex, M-LI01-1.

Description: The question of sex discrimination in employee pension plans in life insurance programs is only part of the more general issue of risk classification. Challenges to the old ways of classifying risks are not limited to pensions or to life insurance. It also impacts auto insurance, health insurance, and all other areas. However, for this discussion we will concentrate on sex discrimination in pension and retirement plans. From Record of the Society of Actuaries 1979, Volume 5, No. 1.