Description: SOA surveys public attitudes about post-retirement risk and its management every two years. This is 7th survey. Article provides highlights of 2013 survey, comments on longer term findings, and information about how to use results. Results are useful for those managing pension plans, developing products, helping individuals and also for policymakers. This issues are particularly important in situations where there are no defined benefit plans.

Description: This is an introduction to the SOA call for essays around risk strategies pertaining to the diverse risks found in retirement. We are pleased that these essays can be included in this issue of Pension Section News, along with a short interview with each author.

Description: The papers in this monograph provide varied perspectives on many housing and retirement issues of concern to policymakers, financial planners, and homeowners, among others. This article provides key takeaways from the various papers. Additionally provided are suggestions for future work.

Description: The authors analyze the impact of the market downturn in 2008 on investors nearing retirement. The analysis finds that these investors are likely to delay retirement to recover. From the 2011 Enterprise Risk Management Symposium, March 2011.

Description: The author reviews 10 authoritative papers regarding research on the post-retirement period of life.

Description: This is a transcript of a roundtable discussion moderated by Anna Rappaport. The purpose of the roundtable is to discuss a model of personal investing known as the Life–Cycle Model of Investing and Saving. This model is concerned with how individuals can find ways to smooth their consumption so that they have a roughly similar standard of living across different periods of time. This roundtable discussion was the catalyst for the article, 'Perspectives on Retirement Planning and Consumption' written by Steven S. Siegel for the October/November 2007 Actuary magazine.

Description: This report highlights the findings of the 2009 survey and focuses on issues in the survey specifically as they relate to economic and financial issues.

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.

Description: This report presents findings from the 2013 Risks and Process of Retirement Survey, specifically those relating to personal risk management. Plans made and actions taken throughout people’s formative working lives develop their “life portfolios.” An important part includes making provisions for their senior years. These steps and efforts continued beyond their working lives to optimize physical, cognitive, emotional and financial well-being comprise their personal management of retirement risk. Such measures include, but are not limited to, when they choose to retire and take Social Security; their spending habits; how they manage debt; how they plan living arrangements and utilize the equity in their homes; the financial products they purchase; and how they employ financial planning services.

Description: The purpose of the latest in this series, the 2005 Risks and Process of Retirement Survey, is to evaluate Americans’ awareness of such risks, how their awareness has changed since 2003, and how it affects the way they manage their finances. This report focuses on attitudes toward longevity specifically in the context of planning for and managing the financial risk of outliving assets in retirement, and relates the public’s understanding of these issues to other studies. Three other reports cover in greater depth the process of retirement, other post-retirement risks, and retirement issues of special concern to women. The 2001, 2003 and 2005 studies separately analyzed current retirees and those not yet retired, referred to in these reports as ‘pre-retirees.’