Retirement Plans Research Reports

If you’re looking for research projects and reports on pensions, you’ve come to the right place. The SOA offers research, authored by an individual or a team of authors, for download in just a few clicks. Most reports are in PDF format.

2024

Impact of AI on Retirement Professionals and Retirees - Essay Collection
August
The Society of Actuaries Aging and Retirement Strategic Research Program Steering Committee issued a call for essays to explore the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLM) on retirement professionals and retirees. The objective was to gather a variety of perspectives and experiences with AI and LLM in different retirement settings—both now and in the future. It is the goal of this collection to spur thoughts for future research and set the stage for upcoming efforts.
Modeling the Impact of Inflation on Retirement Savings Portfolios
June
The primary purpose of this paper is to demonstrate, through a basic stochastic projection model, how inflation might impact savings and investing for retirement.

2023

Benefit at Risk for Lifetime Pension Pools
December
The SOA Research Institute’s Aging and Retirement Strategic Research Program and Canadian Institute of Actuaries are pleased to make available two reports that look at Benefit at Risk (BaR) in lifetime pension pools. The first report introduces the concepts of BaR, creating measures for members to understand the benefit risk in these pools. The authors focus on the measures of budgeting and decision making. The second report focuses on the applications of BaR.
Updated Materials
Exploration of Lifetime Pension Pool Design Elements
Megatrends Impacting the Future of Retirement Plans
April
The SOA Research Institute Aging and Retirement Strategic Research Program and Retirement Section are pleased to make available a research report that examines megatrends and potential paradigm shifts, and how they may impact the future of retirement and retirement plans, as well as the macro forces that will shape those trends.

2022

Optimal Consumption and Annuity Equivalent Wealth with Mortality Model Uncertainty
April
The Society of Actuaries Research Institute is pleased to make available a report that aims to understand the cause of low annuity demand through the angle of mortality model uncertainty.
Communicating Defined Benefit Risk
April
The Society of Actuaries Retirement Section is pleased to make available material that addresses the challenges in communicating pension risk to stakeholders.
Pension Risk Transfer in Canada and the U.S.
April
This report was prepared to provide an overview of pension risk transfer for use in the educational curriculum of the Society of Actuaries. It presents general principles and highlights major differences between Canada and the U.S. from a life insurer’s perspective. The focus is on group annuities, which are the most common solution for pension risk transfer.

2021

Variable Uninsured (Value) Life Annuities
November

The aim of this project is to present proposals for Variable Uninsured Life Annuities—or “Value annuities.” The report and the accompanying models illustrate how Value annuities work. The practicalities of designing and administering a Value pool are addressed, and legislative, regulatory and supervisory implications are illuminated by case studies on two countries (India and Malaysia). This set of material is broader than most contributions to the literature and is aimed at making the approach more feasible and accessible to policymakers, thereby facilitating actual introduction and implementation.
Predictive Analytics: A Primer for Pension Actuaries
October
The Society of Actuaries Aging & Retirement Strategic Research Program and Retirement Section are pleased to make available a report that introduces predictive analytics to pension actuaries.
Maximizing Health Span: A Literature Review on the Impact of a Healthy Lifestyle on Retirement
September
The Society of Actuaries’ Aging and Retirement Strategic Research Program is pleased to release a literature review on the impacts of healthy lifestyle behaviors and chronic condition management, providing a resource for actuaries and others on these issues.
Deep Learning for Liability-Driven Investment
June
The Society of Actuaries’ Committee on Finance Research is pleased to make available a research report that develops a framework for applying deep learning and reinforcement learning techniques to optimal dynamic strategic asset allocation for Liability Driven Investment (LDI).
Pension Risk Transfer: Evaluating Impact and Barriers for De-Risking Strategies - Update
June
The Society of Actuaries Aging & Retirement Strategic Research Program is pleased to make available an update to a 2014 paper related to changes in the continually evolving pension risk transfer landscape. This updated report seeks to discuss pension risk transfer in depth and identify key de-risking actions, alternatives and triggers that impact pension risk transfer strategies.
Understanding the Impact of the Low Interest Rate Environment on Retirement Security in the United States
June
The Retirement Section and Retirement Section Research Committee are pleased to make available a research report examining academic and practitioner research on low interest rates in the United States
Trends in Maturity Metrics, Asset Allocations and Assumed Rates of Return for Large U.S. Public Pension Plans
March
This report considers trends in public defined benefit plan maturity metrics, asset allocations and assumed rates of return among 139 state-based and large local defined benefit pension systems or plans in the United States from 2001 to 2018.

2020

Impact of COVID-19 on Retirement
December
This page includes all retirement related material on COVID-19.
De-risking Strategies of Defined Benefit Plans: Empirical Evidence from the United States
November
The Society of Actuaries is pleased to make available a research report that investigates defined benefit retirement plan de-risking activities for U.S.-based companies and the relative impact of various implemented strategies.
The CPP Take-Up Decision: Risks and Opportunities
July
The Society of Actuaries’ and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries are pleased to make available a research report investigating the financial consequences of delaying Canadian Pension Plan (CPP) payments.
Classification of Risk Sharing in Pension Plans
March
This research examines new risk-sharing ideas, such as Variable Payment Life Annuities, target benefit plans and shared risk plans, to see how they fit in alongside more established Canadian pension plans. It explains why different types of employers can be expected to make different choices.
NHL Players Pension Stats
February
Pension stats sheet for the National Hockey League Players’ Retirement Plan the plan year ended April 30, 2019.
Entertainment Industry Pension Plan Funded Status Comparison
January
A Comparison of funded status among several multiemployer pension plans in the entertainment industry.
NFL Pension Plan Stats
January
Pension stats sheet for the National Football League players pension plan.
MLB Players Pension Plan Stats
January
Pension stats sheet for the Major League Baseball players pension plan.
American Federation of Musicians Pension Plan Stats
January
Pension stats sheet for the American Federation of Musicians and Employers’ Pension Fund for 2018.

2019

National Basketball Association Players Pension Stats
November
Pension stats sheet for the National Basketball Association for 2018.
Population Aging, Implications for Asset Values, and Impact for Pension Plans: An International Study
November
The Society of Actuaries is pleased to make available material for a multi-phased research effort investigating Population Aging and its impact on pension plans.
Entertainment Industry Pension Funded Status Comparison
October
A comparison of funded status among several multiemployer pension plans in the entertainment industry.
Screen Actors Guild Pension Stats
October
Pension stats sheet for the Screen Actors Guild – Producers Pension Plan for 2018.
Directors Guild of America – Producers Pension Stats
October
Pension stats sheet for the Directors Guild of America – Producers Pension Plan for 2018.
Writers Guild of America – Producers Pension Stats
October
Pension stats sheet for the Producers – Writers Guild of America Pension Plan for 2018.
Motion Picture Industry Pension Plan Stats
October
Pension stats sheet for the Motion Picture Industry Pension Plan for 2018.
AFTRA Pension Stats
September
Pension stats sheet for the American Federation of Television and Radio Actors Retirement Plan.
Trends in Canadian Mortality By Pension Level: Evidence From the CPP and QPP
September
The Actuarial Research Centre of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, the Canadian Institute of Actuaries, and the Society of Actuaries are pleased to present a new report examining the mortality of Canadian pensioners subdivided by pension level, using data from the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Québec Pension Plan (QPP).
Life Expectancy Comparison
August
One-page comparisons of life expectancy at age 65 using various mortality tables. A separate page shows comparisons of life expectancy at age 25.
Background Document: Quantitative Evaluation Framework for Retirement Benefit Systems
June
The Society of Actuaries’ Retirement Section Research Committee is pleased to make available material summarizing work done to date to develop a model for a quantitative evaluation framework for retirement benefit systems.
A Low-Growth World: Implications for the Insurance Industry and Pension Plans
June
The Society of Actuaries is pleased to make available a research report that introduces actuaries and risk managers in the insurance and pension industries to current literature discussing growth rates in the past and future expectations.
Liability-Driven Investment – Benchmark Model
April
The Society of Actuaries’ Retirement Section Research Committee and Committee on Finance Research are pleased to make available research material that developed a Liability-Driven Investment (LDI) benchmark framework.
Contribution Analysis: U.S. Single Employer Pension Plan
April
Updated study of US corporate pension plan contributions: have they paid down unfunded liabilities?
NBA Players Pension Plan Stats, 2017
April
Pension stats sheet for the National Basketball Association Players’ Pension Plan for 2017.
Annuity Market Pricing Approaches
March
The Society of Actuaries’ Retirement Section Research Committee is pleased to make available a research report comparing the CIA pricing method for estimating group annuity closeout pricing to methods used in the U.S.
Contribution Analysis for U.S. Multiemployer Pension Plans
March
Updated study of metrics for measuring whether US multiemployer pension plan contributions paid down unfunded liabilities or met regulatory benchmarks.
PBC and PBCR: Two Stress Metrics for U.S. Multiemployer Pension Plans
March
Updated study of metrics for measuring the financial stress imposed on multiemployer pension plans by the combination of unfunded liabilities and declining numbers of active participants.
Employer Withdrawal Activity Overview: U.S. Multiemployer Pension Plans
March
Updated study of the frequency employer withdrawal and the numbers of plans and participants affected.
Patterns of Going Concern Discount Rates
March
This research, based on data from regulatory filings in Ontario, with supplementary information from British Columbia and the United States, examines funding valuation discount rates.
NHL Pension Stats
March
Pension stats sheet for the National Hockey League players retirement plan for the plan year ended April 30, 2018.
U.S. Public Pension Plan Contribution Analysis
February
Update to a longitudinal study of contribution adequacy at paying down unfunded liabilities in state and large city pension plans in the U.S.
Drivers of U.S. Mortality Improvement Expert Panel Forum Report
January
This report summarizes a daylong Expert Panel Forum discussion, which included experts from inside and outside the insurance/retirement industry, who were invited to participate in a discussion to provide input about drivers of U.S. mortality improvement for the short and long term.
Entertainment Pension Stats Comparison
January
Comparison of pension funding stats for selected entertainment industry pension plans.
MLB Pension Stats
January
Pension stats sheet for the Major League Baseball players pension plan.
AFM Pension Stats
January
Pension stats sheet for the American Federation of Musicians pension plan.
NFL Pension Stats
January
Pension stats sheet for the National Football League players pension plan for 2017.

2018

Pension Investment and Withdrawal: What Concerns are Influencing Participant Preferences?
December
This project aims to understand pension participants’ investment and withdrawal behaviors and provide guidance in pension plan design, using data from China. We carried out a survey of employees' preferences on occupational pension investment and withdrawal in China.
Entertainment Industry Pension Funded Status Comparison
October
Comparison of funded status trends through 2017 for various entertainment industry pension plans.
Directors Guild Pension Stats
October
Pension stats sheet for the Directors Guild of America–Producer Pension Plan for 2017.
Motion Picture Industry Pension Stats
October
Pension stats sheet for the Motion Picture Industry Pension Plan for 2017.
Screen Actors Guild Pension Stats
October
Pension stats sheet for the Screen Actors Guild–Producers Pension Plan for 2017.
Writers Guild Pension Stats
October
Pension stats sheet for the Producers–Writers Guild of America Pension Plan for 2017.
AFTRA Pension Stats
October
Pension stats sheet for the AFTRA Retirement Plan.
U.S. Public Pension Plan Mortality Assumptions Compared to Pub-2010 Mortality Tables
August
A comparison of recently used mortality assumptions among state-based and large-city public pension plans with the Pub-2010 Mortality Tables.
U.S. Multiemployer Pension Plan Withdrawal Liability Basics and Collectibility
August
A plain-language, high-level explanation of employer withdrawal liability issues, including how they grew to be large and barriers to their collection.
U.S. Public Pension Plan Mortality Assumptions
June
A comparison of recently used mortality assumptions among state-based and large-city public pension plans.
New CPP Enhancements: What do they mean for Canadian workers and seniors?
June
The Society of Actuaries and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries are pleased to make available a research report assessing the impact of Canadian Pension Plan (CPP) enhancements on Canadian workers and retirees.
U.S. Multiemployer Pension Plan Pending Insolvencies
May
Analysis of the impact of projected multiemployer pension plan insolvencies over 20 years on affected participants and participating employers.
Retirement Adequacy in the United States: Should We Be Concerned?
March
This research report summarizes current research on retirement adequacy and compares different measures.
Annuities Versus Tontines in the 21st Century
March
This research report investigates the mechanics and practicalities of introducing retirement investment income tontines (RITs) in today’s market place.
NHL Players Pension Stats
February
Pension stats sheet for the National Hockey League for the plan year ended April 30, 2017.
Value of Longevity Pooling
February
The Society of Actuaries’ Pension Section has completed a research effort exploring the value of longevity pooling and its implications.
Settlement Cost Compared to Going Concern Funding Targets
February
This research report, based on Ontario pension plan data, examines differences between going concern and solvency valuations.
U.S. Multiemployer Pension Plan Contribution Indices
January
Updated study of metrics for measuring whether US multiemployer pension plan contributions paid down unfunded liabilities or met regulatory benchmarks.
U.S. Multiemployer Pension Plan Withdrawal Overview
January
Updated overview of the frequency and impact of employer withdrawals among multiemployer pension plans.
U.S. Multiemployer Pension Plan Stress Metrics: PBC and PBCR
January
Updated study of metrics for measuring stress imposed on multiemployer pension plans by unfunded liabilities and declining numbers of active participants.
U.S. Single Employer Pension Plan Contribution Indices
January
Updated study of metrics for measuring whether US corporate pension plan contributions paid down unfunded liabilities or met regulatory benchmarks.
American Federation of Musicians Pension Plan Stats
January
Pension stats sheet for the American Federation of Musicians pension plan for 2016.
Entertainment Industry Pension Plan Funded Status Comparison
January
Updated comparison of pension funded status among entertainment industry multiemployer pension plans for 2016. This update supersedes previous comparisons for 2016.
MLB Players Pension Plan Stats
January
Pension stats sheet for the Major League Baseball players’ pension plan for 2016.
NFL Players Pension Plan Stats
January
Pension stats sheet for the National Football League players’ pension plan for 2016.

2017

Modeling and Management of Longevity Risk
November
The Society of Actuaries (SOA), in a joint project with the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA), is creating research projects and education materials on Modeling and Management of Longevity Risk.
NBA Pension Stats
November
Pension stats sheet for the National Basketball Association Players’ Pension Plan for 2016.
Entertainment Industry Pension Plan Funded Status Comparison
October
Pension funded status comparison of entertainment industry multiemployer pension plans for 2016.
Screen Actors Guild–Producers Pension Stats
October
Pension stats sheet for the Screen Actors Guild–Producers Pension Plan for 2016.
Directors Guild of America-Producer Pension Stats
October
Pension stats sheet for the Directors Guild of America-Producer Pension Plan for 2016.
Producers-Writers Guild of America Pension Stats
October
Pension stats sheet for the Producers-Writers Guild of America Pension Plan for 2016.
Motion Picture Industry Pension Stats

October
Pension stats sheet for the Motion Picture Industry Pension Plan for 2016.
AFTRA Retirement Plan Stats for 2015

September
Pension stat sheet for the AFTRA Retirement Plan for 2015.
The Financial Impact of Student Debt on Working and Retired Americans

August
The Society of Actuaries’ Pension Section is pleased to make available a research report addressing the potential consequences of accumulating education debt for retirement security.
U.S. Public Pension Plan Contribution Indices

June
Longitudinal study of metrics for measuring contribution adequacy at paying down unfunded liabilities in state and large city DB pension plans.
U.S. Single Employer Pension Plan Contribution Indices
May
Updated longitudinal study of metrics for measuring contribution adequacy at paying down unfunded liabilities in corporate DB pension plans in the U.S.
American Federation of Musicians Pension Plan Stats - 2015
May
Pension stat sheet for the American Federation of Musicians and Subsidiary Pension Fund for 2015
Impact of Mortality Change on U.S. Single Employer Pension Plan Funding
April
This study looks at the impact on the U.S. single employer pension system as a whole of proposed mortality table changes for funding purposes, including liabilities, contributions and PBGC premiums.
Provisions for Adverse Deviations in Going Concern Actuarial Valuations
March
This research paper expands on the 2013 results of a Canadian Institute of Actuaries’ paper on Provisions for Adverse Deviations in Going Concern Actuarial Valuations of Defined Benefit Pension Plans, by including information on variations in hypothetical wind-up funding levels and by examining differences in required PfADs attributable to differences in plan design.
Discount Rate Sensitivities in Pension Plans
March
Directors Guild Pension Plan Stats - 2015
February
Writers Guild Pension Plan Stats - 2015
February
Motion Picture Industry Pension Plan Stats - 2015
February
NHL Players Pension Plan Stats - 2016
February
Multiemployer Plan PBC and PBCR Update
January
Multiemployer Plan Contribution Indices Update
January
Multiemployer Plan Withdrawal Overview Update
January
Multiemployer Plan Metrics Report
January
NFL Players Pension Plan Stats - 2015
January
MLB Players Pension Plan Stats - 2015
January
Determining Discount Rates Required to Fund Defined Benefit Plans
January