Description: This article looks at the risk of investing in stocks by using traditional actuarial tools, such as measuring the probability of ruin. From Pension Section News, September 2004, Issue No. 56.

Description: This article discusses the challenges to today's retirement system. As part of the recent Re-envisioning Work and Retirement in the 21st Century symposium, held in Washington, D.C., attendees completed a Delphi survey covering challenges to today's retirement system. This article discusses the benefits of a Delphi survey and the results of this particular one. From Pension Section News, September 2006, No. 62.

Description: Our outgoing Pension Section Council chair, Martine Sohier, provides some parting thoughts on the retirement system of today and tomorrow.

Description: The author reportsand reflectson the rich and diverse findings and viewpoints presented at the October, 2008 Future of Life Cycle Savings and Investment Conference held at the Boston University School of Management. Links to the papers presented and more details as to the conference, as well as to a video, are provided.

Description: Anna gives us an excellent “layman’s overview” of concerns, challenges and potential areas for improvement in the area of pre-retirement disability—a contingency that is perhaps too frequently ignored or underemphasized in the general pension actuarial literature during the trend from DB to DC retirement vehicles.

Description: Inaugural column from the 2011 Pension Section Council PSC Chairperson.

Description: Pension Section Communications Team Chairperson Faisal Siddiqi points out the valuable role played by the SOA’s Pension Research team, and provides insights and links to some of the resources of global interest and applicability to actuaries practicing in the retirement and related areas.

Description: In this article, the author discusses the impact automatic enrollment AE in 401k programs has on plan participants. From the Pension Section News, October 2011, Issue No. 75.

Description: Defined contribution plans need to do more than simply offer participants a menu of investment choices--the average worker is not building a secure retirement. Because both employers and employees face constraints, the solution is not as straightforward as delaying retirement or boosting contributions. Features like automatic enrollment can help somewhat, but are not enough. Truly innovative solutions are needed. There are numerous different proposals for improved retirement plans, both in the US and internationally. Individual proposals often contain an evaluation section dealing with benefits and risks, but what is lacking is a full quantitative evaluation framework that can be uniformly applied to a number of different proposals. This essay lays the groundwork for a potential research project to build such a quantitative assessment framework.

Description: Congress once again turns to defined benefit pension plans as a misguided source for financing programs that have nothing to do with retirement.