Description: The primary motivation of this year’s call for essays was to identify potential solutions and new innovations being developed to assist workers and retirees better prepare for retirement. The current call drew 13 authors who submitted 18 excellent essays. The full essay collection is found in this publication and sets forth ideas that can be further developed or that will spur thinking for new products, planning tools and employee benefit plan strategies.

Description: The traditional informal care of/by family has faced increasing geographic and economic challenges from changing family households and sources of family income. Financial planning and risk protection tools provide important resource in the changing retirement landscape toward optimal family support and crisis management, that is, with less duress and financial burden to affected family caregivers. Ultimately, maintaining family values and close communications through evolving family structures are key to a healthy society and economic welfare of the people.

Description: Provides data including a special survey of elder orphans, lays out issues and offers ideas for solutions. Describes types of need for health care support.

Description: This essay collection, which shares thoughts and opinions on the current and potential impact that structure, roles and dynamics of families have on retirement security in the United States.

Description: The article offers a more nuanced approach to caregiving as the population ages, suggesting our current focus on planning leaves out most people. Instead find solutions for non-planners!

Description: Family structures have expanded in recent decades and so have some beneficiary forms in insurance, banking and investment accounts. This essay includes suggestions for further expansion of those little-discussed but very important forms.

Description: Retirement income can be provided by Social Security, employer-provided pension plans, personal savings and family support. With the growth of Social Security and employer-provided pensions, and the decline in birth rates and marriage rates, the role of families in the U.S. retirement system has declined.

Description: This paper identifies and discusses issues affecting retirees’ abilities to successfully navigate medical insurance choices after their employer retiree medical insurance group benefit plan has been terminated and replaced by an outsourced health reimbursement account (HRA) providing accessibility to a stipend through eligible medical insurance claims submissions.

Description: Entry in the Speculative Fiction Contest 2019

Description: Offers an overview of how family contributes to retirement security. Discusses transfers between generations, high-age issues, divorce, what people expect and caregiving.