Description: This essay explores the role that the emerging defined contribution retirement system may be playing in the growth of wealth inequality in the United States. The current system leaves many Americans with little or no retirement savings. Those with higher accumulation levels appear to invest proportionally more in equities, which may have an exponential effect of balances over long time periods. The author hypothesizes that willingness to take investment risk involves the relationship between the amount an investor has accumulated and what she/he needs in order to cover basic costs of living. This is one reason that investors with greater accumulation levels may be able to earn higher rates of return. The essay concludes by suggesting that the U.S. defined contribution system should include all workers and provide additional fiduciary guidance. Examples reforms, both in the U.S. and other countries, are provided.

Description: This paper will focus on default distributions and why they are important.

Description: The is the abstract for a paper that discusses retirement planning information and the signals it provides. It focuses on the issue of communicating lump sum versus income benefits. It discusses challenges in communicating income benefits and provides some alternatives.

Description: This session from the 1995 SOA Boston Meeting presents an interview with financial industry experts on the ways in which consumers allocate investment and insurance dollars, looking at the annuity market, mutual funds and banks. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Vol. 21, No. 4b.

Description: This presentation is a panel discussion, session 94PD, from the 2000 Annual Meeting of the Society of Actuaries, held October 15-18 in Chicago. The panelists discuss behavioral finance, which incorporates psychological phenomena into models of financial markets. Noting that behavioral finance was originally deemed controversial, the panelists look at progress made to integrate behavioral finance into models of efficient markets. The presentation includes a case study on a product in Canada commonly known as guaranteed investment fund [GIF], a segregated fund product, with risks similar to GMDB variable annuities. Behavioral finance is also discussed from the perspective of complex adaptive systems, including nonactuarial applications of these systems, some existing actuarial applications, and some potential actuarial applications. Discussion from participants is included. From the Record of Society of Actuaries, Volume 26, No. 3.

Description: Argues public plans should only hold bonds, on the basis of tax and finance arguments.

Description: Discussion of a New York Times article dealing with the arbitraging of policy loan proceeds by investing them in money market instruments whose yields were well above the policy loan interest rate.

Description: This article discusses the value of policy update programs for life insurance to reflect more current assumptions. One Update program was featured and the article shows the lapse experience of those that accepted the update and those that rejected the update confirm the value of UPDATE programs.

Description: An editorial on the insurance crisis with regards to liability insurance, and the breakdown of the liability system.

Description: Learn more about improving the modelling of individual decisions.