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Actuarial Research Topics in 401(K) Plans: Request for Proposals/Call for Essays

Background and Purpose

401(k) plans, named after a section of the Internal Revenue Code, were introduced in 1978 as part of the Revenue Act. Initially, they were designed as supplemental savings plans to traditional pensions. The plans allowed employees to defer a portion of their salaries into individual accounts, thus providing tax advantages by reducing taxable income. Over time, 401(k) plans gained popularity due to their portability, employer matching contributions, and tax-deferred growth. By the 1990s, many employers began shifting from defined benefit pension plans to defined contribution 401(k) plans, which placed more responsibility on employees to make active elections and manage their retirement savings, including drawdown in retirement. Please note for the purposes of this request for proposals and call for essays, in addition to 401(k) plans, similar plans including 403(b) and 457 plans in the U.S. as well as comparable plans in Canada, are also of interest.

401(k) plans have several current considerations associated with them today. One of the primary considerations is the adequacy of retirement savings, as many employees do not contribute enough to meet their future needs. Additionally, the volatility of investment markets can significantly impact the value of 401(k) accounts, potentially jeopardizing retirement security. Administrative fees and costs associated with these plans can also impact savings over time. Currently, there is an ongoing debate on how to improve the system, with proposals ranging from increasing employer contributions to providing greater financial education for employees. Regardless, 401(k) plans remain a crucial component of retirement planning for millions of Americans, continually evolving to meet the changing landscape of retirement security.

With this background in mind, the Society of Actuaries (SOA) Research Institute’s Aging and Retirement Strategic Research Program is interested in an exploration of 401(k) plans from a variety of actuarial perspectives. The result of this effort is intended to provide a useful resource for readers to become well-grounded on the issues surrounding the impact of these plans in a retirement security context and to set the stage for future research.

This topic is of both immediate and long-term importance. As a result, the Aging and Retirement Program is simultaneously issuing both a request for proposals and a call for essays. The dual objectives of this effort are to:

  • Sponsor a research project that provides an in-depth and expanded view on a topic related to these issues.
  • Publish a collection of essays that represent a broad range of perspectives on these issues.

The next section of this document describes sample topics of interest for both the request for proposals and call for essays.

Additional submission requirements for proposals and essays are described in the subsequent sections.

Research Objective

The sponsors are seeking researchers and essayists to explore actuarial aspects of 401(k) plans. The desired combined end products of this effort are reports/essays that will aid in the understanding of relevant current considerations associated with 401(k) plans as well as potential future dynamics of such plans.

The intended audience for this effort is actuaries and other retirement professionals such as financial planners.

The following are illustrative of the topics and questions that might be addressed in an essay or research project. Respondents to this RFP/Call for Essays are not required or expected to address all or even any of these topics/questions. Rather they are encouraged to also consider other question(s) or topic(s) they deem critical to the work done by the SOA and its members. To maintain a reasonable scope, researchers should be selective in the number of topics/questions they cover.

Responses to this RFP/Call for Essays should clarify the time horizon under consideration in a research project or essay.

Suggested Areas include:

Investment/Market Impact

  • Comparison and effectiveness of 401(k) plans with other retirement savings options: Compare the benefits and drawbacks of 401(k) plans against other retirement savings instruments such as IRAs, pensions, and annuities. For instance, analyze how well 401(k) plans provide income replacement in retirement compared to other retirement savings mechanisms.
  • Effects of market volatility on 401(k) balances: Evaluate how fluctuations in the financial markets impact the growth and stability of 401(k) plan assets over time.
  • Trends in target-date fund usage: Analyze the adoption and performance of target-date funds within 401(k) plans, including participant satisfaction and outcomes.
  • Possible desirability and impact of including “alternative assets” (private equity, private credit, hedge funds, real estate, infrastructure) as investment options. Should they be incorporated into target date funds? What kind of due diligence should be performed? How should the plan deal with possible liquidity constraints?

Artificial Intelligence

  • Role of Artificial Intelligence in managing 401(k) investments, communications, and other administrative elements: Evaluate the effectiveness of artificial intelligence and how it may influence or impact 401(k) plans in the future.

Participant Behavior and Demographics

  • Participant behavior in terms of investment choices: Investigate the decision-making processes and preferences of 401(k) participants when selecting investment options.
  • Role of financial literacy in 401(k) plan participation: Assess the correlation between participants’ financial literacy and their engagement with and success in 401(k) plans.
  • Demographics of 401(k) plan participants and their savings patterns: Study the demographic characteristics (age, gender, income, occupation) of plan participants to understand varying savings behaviors and needs.
  • Gender differences in 401(k) plan participation and outcomes: Investigate disparities in participation rates, savings behaviors, and retirement outcomes between male and female participants.
  • Considerations for eligibility and programs for a broader set of employees including nonstandard ones such as contractors.
  • Evaluation of how the existence of 401(k)s changes behavior, or not, in terms of additional saving for retirement or seeking out other retirement savings products.
  • Assessment of the extent of the population being well-served by 401(k)s vs. those who are not, or those who must rely on other options.

Plan Features and Policies and Plan Sponsor Perspective

  • Impact of auto-enrollment and auto-escalation features: Examine how automatic enrollment and contribution escalation affect plan participation rates and retirement savings adequacy.
  • Fees and their impact on 401(k) plan performance: Analyze the effect of administrative and management fees on the overall performance and growth of 401(k) plan assets.
  • Effectiveness of matching contributions in promoting savings: Evaluate how matching contribution policies influence employee participation and overall savings in 401(k) plans.
  • Experiences with 401(k) student loan matching which allows employers to match an employee's student loan payment with a contribution to their 401(k) from either employer or participant perspective.
  • Plan Sponsors’ assessment of their 401(k) plan’s success. What changes do they expect to make in the future to improve the effectiveness of their program?
  • Options for converting balances to lifetime income at retirement. Should they be a default? Do products have to be insured?

Withdrawals and Loans

  • Analysis of leakage, withdrawal patterns and their financial effects: Evaluate the frequency, timing, and reasons for withdrawals from 401(k) plans and the resulting financial impact on retirement savings.
  • 401(k) plan loan usage and repayment rates: Investigate the prevalence of loans taken against 401(k) plans, the purposes for these loans, and the rates of repayment or default.
  • Impact of early withdrawals on retirement readiness: Study the effects of early withdrawals (before retirement age) on the long-term financial security of participants.
  • Analysis of plan leakage and ways to mitigate it: Study the causes and consequences of plan leakage (early withdrawals, loans) and strategies to reduce it.

External Influences

  • Impact of economic downturns on 401(k) contributions: Examine how recessions and economic downturns affect participant contributions and plan performance.
  • Employee retention and its relationship to 401(k) plan design: Investigate whether robust 401(k) plans contribute to higher employee retention rates.

Plan Management and Portability

  • Assessment of portability and rollover options: Evaluate the processes, benefits, and challenges associated with transferring or rolling over 401(k) assets when changing jobs or retiring.
  • A comparison of Roth vs. non-Roth 401(k) employee accounts including analysis of the future taxation issues and how to help employees understand the differences leading to better choices on Roth vs. non-Roth accounts.

Financial Education

  • Effectiveness of employer-provided financial education programs: Assess the impact of financial education initiatives provided by employers on the financial literacy and savings behaviors of employees.

Again, the list above is not meant to be exhaustive but merely examples of topics that may be examined in an essay or research project.

Rules for Submission of Essays

Timeline

The deadline for submissions is June 20, 2025. Essays will be published in a formal collection as soon as possible.

Length and Instructions for Submission

Essays must be submitted in English with a desired length of between 500 to 2,500 words. There is no requirement for formal or extensive footnoting.

Author information must be submitted with the essay and include name; credentials or designations (if appropriate); title; organization/company; e-mail address; and phone number. Please provide all author information at the beginning of the essay.

Essays that contain any overt political statements, commercial content, and other inappropriate material will not be accepted. Articles must comply with the SOA's antitrust guidelines.

Please submit your essay via e–mail to Research-AR@soa.org.

Awards

$5,000 in award money has been allocated for this call for essays. The review committee will select the leading essays and determine how to allocate the award money among them. Consideration will be given to creativity, originality, and the extent to which an idea might help promote further research or thought in this area. In exchange for award money, selected authors will be required to assign all copyrights in their essays to the Society of Actuaries Research Institute.

Authors are ineligible for awards if an essay is based on an Institute-sponsored and funded research study conducted by the author. However, authors are welcome to submit such essays for publication consideration.

Publication and Presentation

Depending on how many essays are received and the range of the topic areas, a suitable format for electronic publication and dissemination will be selected. Essays may also be suitable for presentation at an SOA meeting, webcast, or other professional development event.

In addition, other venues for publication or presentation of the ideas outside of the Institute will be considered.

Rights Granted

Please understand that by submitting an essay for consideration, the essay author(s) is granting to the Society of Actuaries Research Institute an unlimited license to print or republish their essay, with proper attribution given to the author(s).

Questions Please direct any questions regarding this Call for Essays to Research-AR@soa.org.