Actuarial - aging workforce |
Health Insurance, Health care and Labor Supply by Older Adults (PDF)
"Early workforce exits are publicly costly due to foregone payroll taxes and disability benefit payments, but also costly to workers, whose SSDI benefits are typically lower than their earnings, and who lose the additional contributions to retirement benefits and Social Security earnings credits associated with paid work. Despite a large literature that has shown the importance of health status and disability on work and retirement decisions of older workers, relatively little is known about the role of health care utilization in preventing or delaying workforce exit." (University of Michigan Retirement Research Center)
PBGC Director Explains Retirement Security Challenges, Pension Agency Finances Before House Panel
"Josh Gotbaum, director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), told a House subcommittee today that the combination of living longer, the economy, and changes in pension plans was threatening many people's retirement security. He also detailed the agency's financial challenges, and outlined an administration proposal to redress them by reforming how PBGC sets premiums." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)
Webcast and Written Testimony: Hearing Entitled 'Examining the Challenges Facing PBGC and Defined Benefit Pension Plans'
February 2, 2012. (Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions; Education and the Workforce Committee; U.S. House of Representatives)
Public-private Pay Gap Varies Greatly By Education Level
"Federal civilian workers with only a high school diploma or less fared much better than private sector employees with the same: They earned 21 percent more wages, 72 percent higher benefits and 36 percent more in total compensation. . . . In contrast, among employees with a professional degree or doctorate, federal workers earned 23 percent less in wages and 18 percent lower total compensation, while receiving about the same benefits as the private sector employees with identical degrees." (GovExec.com)
U.S. Workers Delaying Retirement (PDF)
Originally published May 2011. 'U.S. workers have been working longer and retiring later since the mid-1990s, but the Great Recession has put even greater pressure on workers to stay on the job. Yet, increases in delayed retirement are not uniform across regions, industries, or occupations. Moreover, these trends are quite predictable and thus useful forforecasting and planning. Businesses can build a better workforce strategy by incorporating retirement trends specific to their operating environment." (The Conference Board, Inc. via Financial Finesse, Inc.)
Seniors Decide Retirement Doesn't Suit Them, Keep Working
"Baby Boomers are starting to . . . work past conventional retirement age, a trend fueled by an uncertain economy, improved health in older life and an understanding that staying engaged leads to a better sense of well-being. . . . The percentage of people who work and people who want to work . . . for 65 and older was 17.9% [in 2011] compared with 10.8% in 1985. For 75 and older, the rate jumped from 4.3% in 1990 to 7.5% in 2011. (USATODAY.com)
[Opinion] Employment Rate Among Older Workers Reduced, Not Increasing
"By the time the recent recession began, in 2008, Americans were already well into a reversal of the 20th-century trend toward earlier and earlier retirement. The employment rate for older women started rising in the mid-1980s, and for older men soon afterward. The effects were most pronounced among people 65 and older, but were noticeable for those in their early 60s as well. In 1994, 43 percent of people ages 60 to 64 were employed; by 2006, 51 percent were." (Bloomberg L.P.)
Does Retiree Health Insurance Encourage Early Retirement?
"We find that retiree health coverage has its strongest effects at ages 62 and 63, resulting in a 3.7 percentage point (21.2 percent) increase in the probability of turnover at age 62 and a 5.1 percentage point (32.2 percent) increase in the probability of turnover at age 63; it has a more modest effects for individuals under the age of 62." (National Bureau of Economic Research; paid subscription or individual purchase required to retrieve fulltext)
Firms Adjust to Aging Employees with Morning Stretches at Duke Energy, Ice Packs at Harley-Davidson
"Companies also tend to value older workers because they are less likely to job hop. Besides, reducing strains on workers can cut medical-insurance and workers-compensation costs arising from injuries." (The Wall Street Journal)
Health Costs a Key Worry for Those Nearing Retirement
"'Aging Nation: The Impact of America's Senior Population' is part of an ongoing series of polls examining the impact of the current economic downturn." (The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation)
Global Aging; How Companies Can Adapt to the New Reality
"Global aging will put significant pressure not only on corporate growth and productivity but also on national pension, health-care, and welfare programs -- as well as overall economic stability." (The Boston Consulting Group)
Comments to to HHS on Implications of GINA Application to Long-Term Care (PDF)
A joint work group comprised of members of the SOA Long-Term Section Council and the Academy's Federal Long-Term Care Task Force submitted a letter to HHS Secretary Sebelius regarding the department's extension of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) to long-term care insurance in proposed regulations. (American Academy of Actuaries)
More Midlifers Planning to Defer Retirement
"[A] growing number of midlifers (73 percent compared with 67 percent in March) say they plan to keep working in retirement. In fact, they are more likely than any other age group to say they expect to continue earning money." (Life Goes Strong)
Social Security COLAs for 2012: Take The Bad With The Good
"SSA is also increasing the thresholds for the so-called 'earnings test' in 2012. If a retiree continues to work while receiving Social Security benefits, he or she must forfeit a portion of those benefits for earnings above a specified threshold. The earnings limits are subject to COLAs. For retirees who haven't reached full retirement age, $1 of benefits will be forfeited for every $2 in earnings above $14,640 received in 2012 ($1,220 a month)." (AccountingWEB.com)
Retirement Crisis Hits Boomers
"In a recent Gallup poll, 66% of Americans ranked not having enough money for retirement as their top financial concern. That was up from 53% a decade ago and raised a red flag for U.S. policymakers concerned about distress and downward mobility in the middle class." (Finacial Post)
Many Baby-boomers to See Age 100
"Experts even predict that today's crop of teenagers could include the first couples to celebrate a century of marriage, as lifespans extend to 130 or even 150 years. They will have their own financial problems." (Daily Mail)
[Guidance Overview] AT&T Settles EEOC Suit over Early Retirement Program
"The EEOC had charged that AT&T, Inc. and a number of its subsidiaries discriminated against a class of retired AT&T workers by denying them the opportunity for reemployment solely because they retired under certain early retirement or enhanced severance programs. This practice violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act . . . ." (PLANSPONSOR.COM)
GAO Testimony on Income Security: The Effect of 2007-2009 Recession on Older Adults
October 18, 2011, testimony before the Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging, Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. 'Since 2007, unemployment rates doubled and remained higher than before the recession for workers aged 55 and older. While these rates were not as high as for other age groups, of more concern is that once older workers lose their jobs they are less likely to find other employment." (U.S. Government Accountability Office)
As Workforce Ages, Industries Struggle to Prepare for Wave of Retirements
"Many industries find themselves in a quandary. They often need older workers for their expertise, yet they also may need to accommodate their physical disabilities and their desire for more flexible schedules. And as workers stay on the job longer, they may need training in new technologies or work procedures." (The Washington Post; free registration required)
Living to 100: Growing Societal Impact and Challenges: Report from a Symposium (PDF)
Pages 10-14. 'There are a number of important societal questions, and the answers will vary by country. Many will not be known for quite a while: What will the age distribution of our population be and how is it changing? Will people be healthy longer as they live longer? What can be done to improve health?" (Society of Actuaries)
Does Raising the Retirement Age Increase Employment of Older Workers?
"This paper studies how an increase in the minimum retirement age affects the labor market behavior of older workers. . . . Specifically, the unemployment rate increased by 10 percentage points among men and 11 percentage points among women. In contrast, the policy change had only a small impact on the share of individuals claiming disability or partial retirement benefits." (Social Science Research Network)
Pension Choices Can Affect Global Economy
"Although it is in each region's interest to pursue reform regardless of what other regions do, there is a clear advantage to global policy cooperation." (International Monetary Fund)
Restoring Solvency And Improving Equity in Social Security Benefit Options
"Gene Steuerle testifies on alternative ways to restore solvency and undertake benefit reforms in Social Security, concentrating on four: restricting automatic growth in benefits where needs are least, adjusting benefits so they both encourage employment and are concentrated more in older ages . . . ." (Urban Institute)
Exposure Draft Supplement: Proposed GASB Statement's Plain-Language Supplement
20 pages. 'The reasons the GASB concluded that the effectiveness of the pension standards could be significantly improved include: [1] Changes in governmental accounting and financial reporting since the existing pension standards were issued in 1994, most notably the introduction of accrual-based government-wide financial statements; [2] An increasing need among the users of governmental financial reports for comparable information about pensions; [3] The continuing development of the basic concepts that are the foundation of the GASB's standards setting, especially the concepts regarding what constitutes a liability and an outflow of resources. The proposals are made in two Exposure Drafts. . . ." (Governmental Accounting Standards Board)
Financial Reporting for Pension Plans: Proposed Amendment of GASB Statement No. 25 [Exposure Draft] (PDF)
91 pages. Comments deadline: September 30, 2011. Excerpt: 'This proposed Statement would amend the requirements of Statements No. 25, Financial Reporting for Defined Benefit Pension Plans and Note Disclosures for Defined Contribution Plans, and No. 50, Pension Disclosures, as they relate to pension plans that are administered through trusts, or equivalent arrangements, that meet certain criteria." (Governmental Accounting Standards Board)
Retirement at 65? But Its The New 45!
"[T]he national 'retirement age' of 65 has remained unchanged for 75 years, but the lifespan of the average American has gone up by 16 years." (The Christian Science Monitor)
This Investment Will Absolutely Kill You: Death Derivatives
"Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Deutsche Bank don't have it in for you personally . . . . [They want to] help pension funds deal with one of the biggest risks they face right now: the possibility that retired workers end up living longer than expected, which could lead to gross underestimations of the amount of money that pension funds need to set aside in order to cover their eventual payouts." (The Motley Fool)
The Aging of America, as Opportunity
"In 'The Big Shift: Navigating the New Stage Beyond Midlife' . . ., Marc Freedman argues that we need a 'new map of life' to deal with this powerful demographic change." (The New York Times; free registration required)
Deficit Could Reshape Retirement Funding; Mandatory Retirement Savings in the Offing?
Excerpt: 'The demographics of an aging America progress inexorably, while living standards for future retirees are increasingly uncertain. A mandatory savings plan would bring greater financial security in old age." (BusinessWeek)
Labor-Force Participation Rates of the Population Age 55 and Older (PDF)
"For those age 55 and older, the labor-force participation rate continued to increase even after the economic downturn of 2008?2009." (Employee Benefit Research Institute)
Social Security and Retirement around the World: Historical Trends in Mortality and Health, Employment, and Disability Insurance
"This [study] is intended to set the stage for and inform future more formal analysis of disability insurance programs, with this key question: Given health status, to what extent are the differences in [labor force participation] across countries determined by the provisions of disability insurance programs?" (National Bureau of Economic Research; paid subscription or individual purchase required to retrieve fulltext)
How Retirement Is Being Reinvented Worldwide
Excerpt: "[T]he real impetus behind an aging workforce is demographic. People are living longer. Older people are also becoming a larger share of the population in many nations, simply because of declining birthrates and shrinking ranks of young people." (The Christian Science Monitor)
Protecting the Household Incomes of Older Workers with Significant Health-Related Work Limitations in an Era of Fiscal Responsibility (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "In contrast to a benefit-preservation (or -expansion) approach, in this paper we explore a set of policy options that favor 'work support' -- options designed to encourage and help workers continue to work if they can, perhaps with reduced hours or at lower paying jobs. The work-support approach has several distinct merits relative to the benefit-preservation approach." (University of Michigan Retirement Research Center)
Leading Edge of U.S. Baby Boomers Content, According to Survey
Excerpt: "Despite the economic turmoil of the last few years, the leading edge of baby boomers turning 65 next year are content with their lives and many want to continue working for as long as they can, a survey released on Wednesday found." (Reuters)
Why Older Workers Offer Better Value Than Younger Ones
Excerpt: "[Older] workers bring a lifetime of skills to their jobs and can be highly motivated and productive members of the workplace, according to Wharton professors. Many of the stereotypes that prevent employers from hiring and making good use of older workers are merely myths, they say." (Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania)
[Official Guidance] PBGC Technical Update 10-4: Reportable Events; Funding-Related Determinations; Missed Quarterly Contributions; Guidance for 2011 Plan Years
Excerpt: "This Technical Update addresses two topics: Funding-related determinations for purposes of waivers, extensions, and the advance reporting threshold test. Missed quarterly contributions." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)
Recessions, Wealth Destruction, and the Timing of Retirement
Excerpt: "A weaker economy causes employers to increase permanent job separations and reduce new hires, accelerating retirements that would otherwise have occurred later. Falling household wealth reduces the resources available to pay for retirement discouraging older workers from leaving the workforce." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)
Is the Reduction in Older Workers' Job Tenure a Cause for Concern?
Excerpt: "Using data from the Health and Retirement Study . . ., we analyze trends in voluntary, pressured, and forced quits and risk factors associated with each type of quit. We show that leaving one's age-50 job between ages 50 and 56 in any of the above circumstances more than doubles the likelihood that an individual will be working part-time at age 60, relative to a base case of working full-time." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)
Aging Workers, Be Wary of Discrimination
Excerpt: "New evidence linking aging workers to the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease is scary on two fronts. First, it ties declining job performance with common symptoms of the dementia that now affects 5 million Americans. By 2040, that number is expected to quadruple." (www.delawareonline.com)
Population Aging: Its Not Just The Baby Boom
Excerpt: "[T]he baby boom is not the reason for the aging of the population; the aging is the result of long-term trends of increasing longevity and declining fertility. The bust/boom/bust pattern in fertility rates that resulted in the baby boom simply changes the path to an older society." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)
Take This Quiz on Age and the Workplace
Excerpt: "Take the following quiz about age and work to help differentiate between myth and fact." (Los Angeles Newspaper group)
Retirement Issues Likely a Hot Topic in New Congress
Excerpt: "No matter how Congress approaches the problem, concerns about retirement security are growing more urgent during a time of sluggish economic growth . . . . As baby boomers put off retirement because of loss of income or assets -- or both, they'll be occupying jobs that could go to younger people." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
S.&P. Says Cost to Care for World's Elderly Will Spiral
Excerpt: "Credit analysts at Standard & Poor's said on Thursday that the cost of caring for the world's aging populations would be 'on an explosive path' and could swamp the budgets of many countries in the next 40 years unless governments accelerated belt-tightening efforts that are already proving highly unpopular." (The New York Times; free registration required)
Working Retirees 'The New Normal,' According to Study, 'Working In Retirement: A 21st Century Phenomenon'
Excerpt: "A new study finds one in five workers age 50 or above has retired from his old employment and moved into a new paying position, which researchers dub a 'retirement job.'" (PLANSPONSOR.com)
Public Pensions Are Investing for Less
Excerpt: "Financial statements and annual reports would be improved by a management discussion of the consequences of error, misjudgment or uncooperative financial markets. Actuarial data on varying probable scenarios might be appropriate in the pension plan's footnotes. Plan sponsors (employers) should ask hard questions and be sure to disclose the consequences of projection errors in their bond documents." (Governing.com)
French Unions Up Stakes In New Pension Protest Call
Excerpt: "The Thursday protests put around three million people on the streets according to unions, about one million according to police." (Reuters via New York Times; free registration required)
Book Review: How Companies Can Turn an Ageing Workforce to Their Advantage
Excerpt: "By carefully examining statistical evidence, the authors conclude that 'on virtually every dimension that is relevant to employers, older workers come out ahead of their younger colleagues'. These include in areas such as knowledge, skills, abilities, problem-solving and adaptability." (Sinagapore Management University and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania)
'When I'm 64' -- How Aging U.S. Baby Boomers Have Begun to Carry That Weight
Excerpt: "The trend toward delayed retirement could also be good news for the cognitive capacities of aging baby boomers. Cross-national data from 13 developed countries have shown a correlation between delayed retirement and the delayed onset of cognitive declines, with both delays being more characteristic of older Americans than of older Europeans." (RAND)
[Opinion] The Public Pension Monster
Excerpt: "The graph projecting the growth of pension obligations in California demonstrates that what started as a little harmless back scratching has morphed into a monster that unaddressed will claim all of the resources the state can muster via taxation." (Tom Lindmark via iStockAnalyst)
[Opinion] Mr. President, It's Time to Climb the Social Security Actuarial Learning Curve
Excerpt: "The Democratic doctrine requires doing everything possible to preserve Social Security in its current form. That includes using sentimental rhetoric to trumpet good news while obscuring any bad news, such as acknowledging that this year the vaunted program will pay out more than it takes in. The Republican doctrine requires not lifting a finger to get in the way of Democrats' preservation effort." (Amity Shlaes via Bloomberg.com)
Nevada Slashing Health Benefits to State Workers
Excerpt: "Facing a $111.2 million shortfall to support existing benefits, the Public Employee Benefits Plan board voted Thursday for sweeping changes that will drastically reduce benefits for active state workers and retirees." (Nevada Appeal)
Recalculating Pension Risk Following Health Reform
Excerpt: "Pension managers might want to revisit life expectancy calculations in the wake of health reform . . . . Improved access to medical care could extend life span, based on the East German experience after the fall of the Berlin Wall. " (Workforce Management (free registration required))
[Opinion] Testimony: 'Encouraging Work at Older Ages' before Senate Committee on Finance (PDF)
8 pages. Excerpt: "The most important forces behind the historical turnaround in labor force participation were rising education levels and technological change leading to less physically demanding jobs. Work atolder ages is likely to continue rising in the future, but it will be propelled by different forces." (RAND)
Senate Finance Committee to Hold Hearing July 15 on 'Choosing to Work During Retirement and the Impact on Social Security'
Excerpt: "Scheduled to testify are: Stephen Goss, chief actuary for the Social Security Administration; Marc Freedman, CEO and founder, Civic Ventures, San Francisco, California; Marcia Brown, CEO, National Center for Appropriate Technology, Butte, Montana; Nicole Maestas, economist and group manager, RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, California; and Bonnie Shelor, senior vice president for human resources, Bon Secours Richmond Health Systems, Richmond, Virginia." (PLANSPONSOR.com)
[Opinion] Seven Lessons for the U.S. from the Greek Fiscal Crisis
Excerpt: "The demographic crunch is here. The much-anticipated demographic crunch is here. The elements of this crunch are today well-known: aging populations; longer life expectancies; underfunded defined benefit pension plans, particularly in the public sector; traditional and now unrealistic retirement ages, both for public employees and for government transfer programs such as Social Security and Medicare. These long-term challenges are long-term no more." (Oxford University Press, Inc.)
Illinois Stops Paying Its Bills
Excerpt: "[T]here is the spectacularly mismanaged pension system, which is at least 50 percent underfunded and, analysts warn, could push Illinois into insolvency if the economy fails to pick up." (New York Times; free registration required)
European Union Might Raise Retirement Age to 70
The proposal was made by the executive of the EU. Details are forthcoming in a paper to be issued today (Wednesday). (AP via New York Times)
Mass Protests Against Raising French Minimum Retirement Age to 60
Excerpt: "The current government, struggling to bring its swollen deficit under control, says it has no choice but to raise it." (New York Times; free registration required)
Employers Looking for Ways to Help Relocated Employees with Complicated Arrangements for Elder Care
Excerpt: "Consider, first, that the overall workforce is aging: There were 27 million working adults ages 55 and over in January 2010, compared to 18 million in January 2000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Given that increase, the number of people taking care of an elder parent or in-law in the United States is 34 million, according to the most updated statistics from AARP, an advocacy group for older Americans." (Human Resource Executive Online)
Aging Boomers May Bring Fiscal Blessings Instead of Entitlement Load
Excerpt: "At least for the U.S. economy, the dire forecasts may be overstated. The ranks of boomers expecting to kick back and retire soon are shrinking fast. A lifetime of poor savings habits -- coupled with the devastating impact on retirement portfolios of two bear markets in eight years -- have convinced many boomers that they'll have to put in more time at the office. This should reduce the demands on Social Security and Medicare. 'People will work longer in general since it's the best way to get out their financial predicament,' says David Court, a director at McKinsey & Co." (BusinessWeek)
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