Description: A generational perspective on the decline of traditional defined benefit plans and hope for the future. Do we need to wait until all the actuaries and plan members from the old DB system have retired before a new system can emerge?

Description: The 2021 Society of Actuaries Generations Survey offers results by race and ethnicity. This article is an interview with Alan Newsome and shares the results of the survey as well as broader issues to understand the differences in retirement security by race and ethnicity. It documents that there are major differences, and that the COVID-19 pandemic affected different groups very differently. It also raises issues related to societal conditions.

Description: 10 Considerations for DB Pension Plans in Light of the Coronavirus Crisis of 2020. The article discusses the following topics: ERISA funded status & benefit restrictions; cash contributions & tax deductibility; PBGC premiums; Pension Accounting Expense; Commencing Benefits After Normal Retirement Age; Bringing Back Former Participants; Actuarial Assumptions; Asset Allocation and Re-Risking; De-Risking Expectations and Future Funding Relief

Description: The 2020 ERISA Advisory Council of the Department of Labor had a project on Considerations for Recognizing and Addressing Participants with Diminished Capacity. I delivered testimony to the ERSIA Advisory Council on this topic in September 2020. This article summarizes some key points from the testimony and also offers ideas for how employers can help employees and retirees deal with these issues. There are two different audiences that employers deal with as a result of diminished capacity – the individuals whose capacity is diminished, and those who help them.

Description: Most industry professionals acknowledge that funding retirement needs will almost always require disciplined savings over a period of decades. Today, we are less than 30 years from the second half of the 21st Century. However, a majority of the Millennial and Gen Z generations are either not eligible for or are not using today's tax-preferred options for funding retiree medical and Long Term Care (LTC).

Description: Mandatory implementation of life principle-based reserves (PBR) is just around the corner, and there is no shortage of work to do, as most products have yet to be moved to PBR. Oliver Wyman recently completed its 2019 PBR survey, with more than 40 participants covering 85 percent of the individual life market, including 23 of the top 25 life writers and five reinsurers. This article will expand on the key survey findings including implementation trends, analysis to date and recent discussions on the treatment of non-guaranteed reinsurance.

Description: Read the August 2020 issue of Retirement Section News published by the Retirement Section. Newsletters provide practical information for the working actuary, articles on trends that impact sections and news about section activities.

Description: In this mortgage crisis, it appears mortgage brokers and mortgage originating bankers were similar to unchecked MGAs. These brokers and banks had an incentive to produce mortgages that would generate fees for them. Those mortgagees would then be sold to investors, generating additional fees – but it appears there were often no incentives to align the interests of those mortgage producers with the purchasers of these mortgages. The brokers and banks “did not have any skin in the game.”

Description: Feature article discussing how much money an individual needs to retire comfortably.

Description: Feature article highlighting the thoughts of Neil Lloyd, who is responsible for research for the Defined Contribution and Financial Wellness practice of Mercer, on retirement issues.