Description: This report presents the results of a 2005 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 report provides key findings from the 2005 Risks and Process of Retirement Survey related to issues of particular importance to women. The report also focuses on differences and similarities in the retirement risks faced by men and women.

Description: This article provides a perspective on the SOA’s Aging and Retirement research reports, and on the types of research that are included. The SOA does a lot of research on different retirement topics, and many people are not aware of the scope of this work. This article offers an overview of the big picture as we think about the future. The article describes longer-term challenges to the US retirement system and recent developments that have affected the system and created uncertainty. It provides an overview of what individuals have said about retirement and their view of post-retirement risks and planning in a variety of consumer research studies. It then reviews some of the research and provides information on summary reports which provide insight on the findings from multiple related research reports. It also provides information about consumer education and what is currently available and in process. It then focuses on how the SOA is helping retirement professionals understand current and expected change and discusses areas of uncertainty as we help those we serve deal with change.

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: This 1978 discussion session focuses on the impact on pension plan design due to: 1. The 1977 Amendments to the Social Security Act, 2. The Administration's proposal in regard to integration of private pension plan benefits with Social Security benefits, 3. The requirement to eliminate compulsory retirement prior to age 70, and 4. The U.S. Supreme Court decision in City of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, et al. v. Manhart, et al. which held that an employer violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when it requires women to contribute more than men to a pension fund in order to receive the same level of benefits.

Description: Women have different resources and experiences than men in retirement, partly due to demographic and life cycle differences and partly due to societal practices. This article reviews the differences, the situation 25 years ago, and then compares the situation 25 years ago to the situation today. Some of the big long lasting issues are differences in life spans and periods of disability, differences in pay, different shares of caregiving responsibility and differences of time out of the workplace. It finds some things that have improved, but other issues that existed 25 years ago have still not been addressed. New issues have arisen. The article draws on a presentation given at the 25th anniversary of the Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER). It also focuses on the impact of COVID and the changes that have taken place in the workplace in the last few years. It provides insights into and discussions of the pros and cons of remote and hybrid work arrangements. It provides insights into issues that still need to be addressed.

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: 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 report highlights the findings of the 2009 survey and focuses on issues in the survey specifically as they relate to retirement concerns unique to women.

Description: This is an Excel workbook that contains detailed reviews of the literature that was searched in the course of a study that explored pre-retirement influences on attitudes and decisions regarding retirement. The research study, conducted by Linda Smith Brothers, reviewed sixty papers written since 1990, and summarized their important points under several categories. The workbook contains a description of the specific categories covered and how they are addressed by each of the sixty papers that were reviewed.