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: 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: The Society of Actuaries Research Institute’s Aging and Retirement Strategic Research Program is pleased to release a collection of essays addressing the impact of inflation on retirement and retirement-related issues.

Description: The Society of Actuaries Research Institute’s Aging and Retirement Strategic Research Program is pleased to release a collection of essays addressing the impact of inflation on retirement and retirement-related issues.

Description: The Society of Actuaries Research Institute’s Aging and Retirement Strategic Research Program is pleased to release a collection of essays addressing the impact of inflation on retirement and retirement-related issues.

Description: Explore the use of conjoint analysis to understand what employees say they want and/or need in a retirement plan in newly released research material sponsored by the SOA’s Retirement Section. Retirement plans of the past were defined as a benefit or a defined contribution in nature with their attendant features. As today’s hybrid plan designs consider features of the two historical archetypes, this research methodology identifies which features of a retirement program are most important to employees. This research, coming from the SOA’s Aging and Retirement Strategic Research program, includes a tool for testing preferences for different combinations of features by different demographic groups (age, income, gender, race/ethnicity, etc.) By attending the webcast, you will be able to understand: What conjoint analysis is and how it works. Which features of retirement programs are most important to employees. How to use a tool to compare the importance of features for different demographic groups. How to use a tool to compare the level of acceptance of different retirement packages for various demographic groups. Come look at alternative plan designs (either inside or outside of what is possible today) to better understand how employees in different situations are likely to respond to the design combinations.