Description: Author's view of important issues raised in EBRI 35'th anniversary policy forum and other settings, together with commentary and related public policy recommendations. Goal is to encourage readers to think about the situation today and where it might be going, and to help them identify important issues that need attention.

Description: The investment allocation is a critical component of pension risk management and having actuaries with a strong investment acumen is critical for pension success. This article dives into why investment knowledge is so valuable for actuaries today and what the SOA is doing to help provide actuaries with these critical skills.

Description: Summary of current Pension Section activities, including continuing education opportunities.

Description: This article advocates that DC plan sponsors implement programs of retirement income in their plans, and that actuaries are ideally qualified to help plan sponsors with that task. A program of retirement income offers a menu of choices to convert savings to income, along with appropriate communications to help retiring employees make informed choices.

Description: A summary and description of a recent publication by the Committee on Post-Retirement Needs and Risks of the Society of Actuaries.

Description: A Discussion of why female mortality is higher than male mortality at higher ages.

Description: This article presents the background around the Post Retirement Needs and Risk call for essays focused on: (1) defined contribution plan risk management strategies; (2) decumulation strategies for retirement and (3) long-term care financing. The important essays from that exercise are presented in this Pension Section News publication along with interviews of the winning authors.

Description: The "feel free" strategy helps retirees understand when they can retire, how much they can spend and how much guaranteed income they might want. The approach is very simple - divide your age by 20 and feel free to spend that percentage of your savings in a year.

Description: Discusses key issues to improve the retirement system in the U.S. in a primarily defined contribution environment. Focuses on age at retirement, how people retire, and covering risks including disability and longevity risk. Some ideas are feasible within current environment and some require policy change.

Description: Longevity insurance benefits are deferred annuities that begin payment at advanced older ages, such as at age 82. With a longevity insurance benefit, the problem of asset decumulation with uncertain life expectancy is simplified. Instead of planning for an uncertain period, retirees can plan for the fixed period from the date of their retirement to the date at which they start receiving the longevity insurance benefit. Originally, Social Security was structured as a longevity insurance benefit program, with roughly 50 percent of those entering the workforce surviving to receive the benefits. Over time, however, as life expectancy has improved, Social Security benefits have slowly transformed into benefits that most people entering the work force ultimately receive. While adding longevity insurance as a new benefit when Social Security is already facing a financing deficit would be problematic, reintroduction of a longevity insurance benefit a s part of Social Security reform package that involved benefit cuts could be an important policy innovation.