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: Interview focusing on Claude Lamoureux and his experience with retirement programs and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan.

Description: In recent years, there has been an uptick in new defined benefit plans and previously frozen plans have reopened to take advantage of surplus assets. However, few of these new plans are what we would call traditional defined benefit plans. This webcast will discuss the design of the new (and reopened) plans - both single and multi- employer - and the rationale behind them.

Description: The Society of Actuaries (SOA) Research Institute released initial findings from its biennial Retirement Risk Survey to gain insights into financial retirement risks and help improve financial planning strategies.

Description: This webcast presents findings from a recent report sponsored by the Aging and Retirement Strategic Research Program that explored the savings and retirement planning of 35- to 45-year-olds through a series of focus groups. The motivation for this effort was to gain insight into the attitudes, beliefs, and other factors that influence this age group’s savings and retirement planning. Along with findings from the report, additional context and perspectives on the broader implications of the report will be presented. These implications include its connection to other research sponsored by the Aging and Retirement Strategic Research Program and the current retirement landscape. The perspectives of different stakeholders will be considered.

Description: This report was prepared to provide an overview of pension risk transfer for use in the educational curriculum of the Society of Actuaries. It presents general principles and highlights major differences between Canada and the U.S. from a life insurer’s perspective. The focus is on group annuities, which are the most common solution for pension risk transfer.

Description: This e-course describes social insurance programs, their operation and the current issues they are facing.

Description: An interview with actuary Lee Gold reveals preliminary results of a recent SOA research project which surveyed employees on what retirement plan features they prefer.

Description: There is no silver bullet to improving retirement income outcomes for retirees. However, a combination of changes can be of significant value in addressing this overlooked issue. Although QLACs on the surface have potential value, they are not nearly as efficient as they could be. So far, employer plans have provided limited options for retirement income solutions. IRAs may not cost effectively serve the best interest of retirees. Employer plans should be encouraged to become retirement income providers and alternative approaches should be considered. The current prohibition on allowing plans to modify benefit payouts based on mortality experience should be reconsidered to allow for innovative plan income designs. Improvements to the deaccumulation stage of the retiree nest egg are challenging yet necessary.

Description: All things considered, caution needs to be applied to the use of so-called “standard” mortality tables. Sharpening up these blunt estimates by using individual assumptions reveals material differences in the structure of longevity, both between plans and within plans.