Description: Planning for retirement in North America has become much more challenging as the defined benefit system has declined. We must take more responsibility for ourselves. As we plan, many societal forces affect us. Both men and women are disadvantaged because Americans in particular are not very good savers. While pension plans and Social Security, or CPP/QPP/OAS in Canada, generally use the same formulas for men and women, often the results are different. This article focuses on the challenges women face in retirement.

Description: The "feel free" strategy helps retirees understand when they can retire, how much they can spend and how much guaranteed income they might want. The approach is very simple - divide your age by 20 and feel free to spend that percentage of your savings in a year.

Description: This article introduces the Retirement Probability Analyzer Software. From Pension Section News, January 2005, Issue No. 57.

Description: Argues that most retirees face multiple financial risks that need to be considered simultaneously so that limited resources can be applied in a manner that is rational and satisfying. A specific procedure for developing such an individualized risk strategy is described.

Description: This article presents the findings of an Urban Institute study sponsored by the Pension Section and the Actuarial Foundation examining the election of joint and survivor annuities by married adults. From Pension Section News, June 2004, Issue No. 55.

Description: Provides perspective on how risk has been shared in a variety of retirement and insurance arrangements, and suggestions some ideas for innovations and different risk sharing in the future. Traditional retirement program are defined benefit and defined contribution, which have very different methods of risk sharing. The new ideas share risk differently. Offers some history of retirement and risk sharing. Goal is to improve retirement security.

Description: This article discusses building new retirement systems. It references an article published in the Economist, 'Actuaries and the pensions crunch: When the spinning stops,' Jan. 26, 2006, and the stir that article created in the pension community. This article suggests that we take our understanding of the global economy, business models, shareholder expectations, employee expectations, employment risks, pre-retirement risks and the emerging retirement paradigm and create a new retirement system. From Pension Section News, April 2006, No. 61.

Description: Recently completed research projects from the Society of Actuaries.

Description: This article explores the development of the annuity market in the UK over the past 20 years. It examines the explosive growth achieved by the enhanced annuity market and delves into the kinds of customers attracted by these products and the kinds of enhancements typically presented. It also explores the impact of government policy changes which have lead to annuity volumes declining and 'drawdown' product becoming more popular.