Description: summary of Canadian topics from recent Retirement Section Council meeting. Update on defined contribution initiative and potential US legislation. Highlight recent SOA research on retirement income.

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: 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: The traditional defined-benefit (DB) plan is a type of plan structured to provide the greatest degree of retirement income security, designed to pay out a guaranteed retirement income for the life of the retiree (and, when applicable, a beneficiary). However, over the last several decades, the number of private-sector employees covered under these traditional plans has decreased dramatically and been replaced by defined contribution (DC) plans. In contrast, public-sector retirement plans, which are exempt from ERISA, have seen a much smaller decline in DB plans. There are many differences in the private and public sector that likely contributed to this phenomenon, but ERISA and the many amendments to it has been a major factor.

Description: This article offers insights about the United Technologies Corporation lifetime income approach and information on the design, administration and acceptance.

Description: A DC plan design information that could align with organizational goals allowing for benefits for both higher and lower paid employees. It works amazingly easy for 403(b) plans but can also work well with 401(k) plans. You can model the design to see what works best for your organization to ensure passage of nondiscrimination tests and alignment with budget.

Description: Interview with Blaine Aiken to learn about recent developments in fiduciary responsibility and financial and retirement advice. New developments will extend the fiduciary requirements financial advisors are subject to. These developments are linked to changes in the code of ethics that apply to CFPs.

Description: This article focuses on retirement planning and knowledge and how the SOA Research Institute has added to our understanding of what consumers know and how they plan. It is the first of a series that offer insight into where consumers are today, identifies gaps in understanding, planning and managing retirement issues, helps us understand how consumers act at various life stages, highlights consumer information collected by the SOA Research Institute and provides some recommendations for working with different stakeholders to improve retirement planning. This article identifies the components of the research and how they fit together and provides a summary of major findings with regard to gaps in knowledge and planning. The research includes focus groups and in-depth interview, consumer surveys, a conjoint study, a study of future issues by Futurists, and more.

Description: An interview with Michelle Richter-Gordon which provides a look at how DC participants feel about their financial security in retirement and suggests how retirement professionals can improve the financial security of retirees during the decumulation phase.

Description: Many retirement actuaries have experience developing, implementing, and monitoring Liability Driven Investing (LDI) strategies for plan sponsors. These strategies typically involve modifying a plan’s investment strategy to remove a significant portion of the investment and interest rate risk now or at some point in the future when specific triggers are met. The tactics often involve the use of fixed income assets to cash flow and/or duration match the liabilities. In the spirit of helping actuaries expand their roles in an evolving defined contribution world, this article explores the application of LDI and derisking strategies within defined contribution and individual retirement accounts. The economic theory behind this approach is called the lifecycle hypothesis, or lifecycle finance. The benefits of the lifecycle finance method are that it provides a safe approach to save for retirement and a secure source of floor income during retirement. Similar to pension plans, each individual has his or her own idiosyncratic needs, wants, and risks that should be considered. Actuaries are uniquely situated to help defined contribution plan sponsors, individuals, and even themselves implement the lifecycle finance approach by developing and distributing tools and methods that focus on income (rather than wealth), LDI strategies, and personalization.