Who Is ‘Too Big to Fail’?
Concerned that your insurance company might be designated a SIFI (Systemically Important Financial Institution)? Then read Deloitte's primer on SIFIs. Here's a synopsis and a link.
Actuaries Without Borders… Why Not?
Experts from Aegon Global Pensions, De Nederlandsche Bank and other Dutch pension and financial consulting firms are helping the Amsterdam-based P&D Network plant the seeds for "micropension" programs in the developing world. The final part of a two-part series.
Micro-Pensions in Central America
You've heard of micro-credit: those mini-loans to female entrepreneurs in emerging markets. Now a micro-pension movement is underway, and one of the first pilot projects starts next month in Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Part I of a two-part article.
A Reference Work Built for You
The Society of Actuaries' recent book (available here in pdf form) puts the reader at the center of a web of hundreds of articles, research studies, other resources relevant to the risks and opportunities of Boomer retirement.
Featured
Why the U.S. had a crisis but Canada didn’t
Two Rutgers professors explain how fragmentation of the banking system in the U.S. has led to a long series of panics here, of which the Great Recession was only the latest. Canada's financial history has been quieter.
Use of peer pressure to encourage savings can backfire
Plan sponsors who urge union members to participate or to contribute more by pointing out other employees' saving behavior may produce unintended consequences, Harvard's David Laibson (in photo) and other researchers found.
News
Health insurance ate your raise
Between 2000 and 2009, the share of compensation gains provided in the form of more expensive benefits ranged from 35.2% to 60.8% for U.S. workers, depending on their level of income, according to Towers Watson.
TIAA-CREF Institute elicits “best practices” for DC plans
The research arm of the non-profit retirement plan for educators has just published the results of a forum it hosted last December on best practices and potential improvements in the design of defined contribution plans.
Actuaries suggest automatic adjustments for Social Security
"Automatic adjustments to benefits, taxes, or the normal retirement age could solve Social Security’s long-range financing problem permanently and automatically—and restore public confidence in the system," says the American Academy of Actuaries.
Pensions feel the risks of “de-risking”
In July, the combined funding deficits of the 100 largest U.S. DB plans rose by $68 billion, to $254 billion, said Reuters, citing the Milliman Pension Fund Index.
Leakage from retirement plans plagues South Africa
To promote retirement savings and drive down the cost of retail annuities, South Africa's National Treasury is considering the creation of a public, low-cost "Retail Bond-backed Retirement Annuity."
