Description: This essay explores the role that the emerging defined contribution retirement system may be playing in the growth of wealth inequality in the United States. The current system leaves many Americans with little or no retirement savings. Those with higher accumulation levels appear to invest proportionally more in equities, which may have an exponential effect of balances over long time periods. The author hypothesizes that willingness to take investment risk involves the relationship between the amount an investor has accumulated and what she/he needs in order to cover basic costs of living. This is one reason that investors with greater accumulation levels may be able to earn higher rates of return. The essay concludes by suggesting that the U.S. defined contribution system should include all workers and provide additional fiduciary guidance. Examples reforms, both in the U.S. and other countries, are provided.

Description: Hear from the chairperson on themes in the May 2017 Pension Section News published by the Pension Section.

Description: Read the June 2017 issue of Pension Section News published by the Pension Section. Newsletters provide practical information for the working actuary, articles on trends that impact sections and news about section activities.

Description: Current DC plans do an extremely poor job at managing investment and longevity risk for plan participants. This leads to suboptimal outcomes: retirement income is potentially too low, assets are subject to catastrophic losses and may even run out. Insurance solutions—most notably annuities—address some of these issues, but are expensive and not very much liked by consumers. This paper explores how Enhanced Risk Sharing Savings Accounts (“ERiSSA”), consisting of a combination of individual DC accounts with a collective risk sharing and return redistribution mechanism coupled with deferred annuities, might be able to strike a better overall balance for consumers.

Description: How can we manage decumulation in an era of Defined Contribution plans? Marketing and incentives for annuity conversion, pooled-type retirement plans plus developing a "Social Security longevity annuity" can all be pieces of the solution.

Description: This article discusses the challenges to today's retirement system. As part of the recent Re-envisioning Work and Retirement in the 21st Century symposium, held in Washington, D.C., attendees completed a Delphi survey covering challenges to today's retirement system. This article discusses the benefits of a Delphi survey and the results of this particular one. From Pension Section News, September 2006, No. 62.

Description: The article endorses broader use of lifetime income in DC plans. It explains why the use of DB plans will continue to decline. The article points out that plans sponsors will not willingly take on additional ERISA fiduciary exposure. The article endorses three regulatory reforms that would increase the use of lifetime income in DC plans. 1. A robust annuity issuer safe harbor that would free employers from fiduciary exposure for putting an annuity provider on the DC platform. 2. A requirement that a plan offer a lifetime income option to qualify for the 404(c) safe harbor. 3. A revision to 404(c) to allow plan sponsors to allocate part or all of the employer match to lifetime income.

Description: Responding to Sandy Mackenzie's "Report", these comments primarily suggest additional disclosures for assessing public pension plan financial heath.