Description: Kevin Binder, chair of the Pension Section Research Team, shares a summary of two recently completed projects that are now posted on the SOA website.The first topic is on the drawing down of retirement savings and the second is on the valuation of pension plan embedded options. From Pension Section News, October 2011, Issue No. 75.

Description: In this article, the author talks about the actuarial profession in Barbados.

Description: The first Baby Boomers turn 60 this year, which will begin a tidal wave of new retirees in the coming years. Unfortunately for these retirees, the long–term funding of Social Security is unclear, defined benefit plans cover fewer and fewer of today's workers, and defined contribution plan savings rates are generally not high enough to compensate for a lengthy retirement. This article describes how this wave of retirees presents a growing opportunity for the insurance industry.

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: Feature article discussing various research programs centered on retirement needs.

Description: This article discusses the shortfalls present in most retirement planning software. Some of these come from the design of the software and some from unsophisticated use of it. In any case, the resources needed for retirement are often understated.

Description: This table is an analysis of engagement among adults age 55 and older by health status. Engagement is defined as time spent in paid work, formal volunteering informal volunteering and caregiving activities.

Description: In this article, the chairperson recaps what the section has been doing over the last three months. Items include development of a plan for organizing and promoting the retirement research, supporting the SOA's Rapid Retirement Research Initiative and developing a plan termination symposium. From Pension Section News, October 2011, Issue No. 75.

Description: Provides perspective on how risk has been shared in a variety of retirement and insurance arrangements, and suggestions some ideas for innovations and different risk sharing in the future. Traditional retirement program are defined benefit and defined contribution, which have very different methods of risk sharing. The new ideas share risk differently. Offers some history of retirement and risk sharing. Goal is to improve retirement security.

Description: Excerpts from the PBGC Actuarial Valuation Report—1999 Fiscal Year by Joan M. Weiss from Pension Section News, June 2000, Issue No. 43.