Subscribe (Free) to
Daily or Weekly Newsletters
Post a Job

Featured Jobs

Loan & Distribution Specialist

AimPoint Pension
(Remote)

AimPoint Pension logo

Director of 3(16) Operations

Compass
(Remote / NH / Hybrid)

Compass logo

Benefits Manager

Hall County Government
(Gainesville GA)

Hall County Government logo

Business Development Director

AimPoint Pension
(Remote / Pompano Beach FL / AL / GA)

AimPoint Pension logo

Regional Vice President of Sales

The Retirement Plan Company
(Remote / AL / FL / GA / MS)

The Retirement Plan Company logo

Retirement Plan Administrator

Bates & Company, Inc.
(Remote / Winter Park FL)

Bates & Company, Inc. logo

Defined Benefit Combo Cash Balance Compliance Consultant

Loren D. Stark Company (LDSCO)
(Remote)

Loren D.  Stark Company (LDSCO) logo

View More Employee Benefits Jobs

Free Newsletters

“BenefitsLink continues to be the most valuable resource we have at the firm.”

-- An attorney subscriber

Mobile app icon
LinkedIn icon     Twitter icon     Facebook icon

222 Matching News Items

1.  Comment Letter by Actuary Kenneth A. Steiner to EBSA on Benefit Statement Proposals (PDF)
Ken Steiner, FSA Retired Link to more items from this source
May 13, 2013
"EBSA has decided that the safe harbor disclosure of the monthly payment associated with the Current Balance should be determined by converting the current balance to a life annuity equivalent assuming the participant has reached his or her normal retirement age ... under the plan on the date of calculation, even if the participant is much younger on such date. EBSA explains the rationale for this calculation as the payment the participant would receive today for life if he/she were old enough today (i.e., [had] reached the normal retirement date). The result of this methodology is to effectively assume no investment return on the current account balance between current age and normal retirement date.... [T]his is not the accrued benefit associated with the current balance; it is potentially misleading and not particularly helpful to someone who is trying to plan for retirement."
2.  It's That Time of Year: Retired Households Should Perform Their Actuarial Valuations
Ken Steiner, FSA Retired Link to more items from this source
Jan. 7, 2024
"A household actuarial valuation involves calculating and comparing present values of household assets and household spending liabilities for the purpose of determining the household's Funded Status. To do this, [the authors] suggest you follow the easy 5-step valuation process outlined [in this post, using the] Actuarial Financial Planner (AFP) models."
3.  Retired Actuaries Submit Comments to DOL Regarding Disclosure of Lifetime Income Stream Equivalents
Ken Steiner, FSA Retired Link to more items from this source
May 31, 2020
"The DOL Lifetime Income Calculator should allow input of alternative assumptions, retirement ages, participant data, etc. to further facilitate retirement planning by participants ... The model disclosure language should direct participants to the DOL Lifetime Income Calculator to enable them to model different assumptions, different retirement ages, future contributions, etc."
4.  An Analysis of JP Morgan's Dynamic Withdrawal Strategy
Ken Steiner, FSA Retired Link to more items from this source
Mar. 2, 2014
"[B]ased on [specific] assumed investment experience, the JP Morgan strategy produces a spending budget that is somewhat more volatile (when measured in inflation adjusted dollars) than the Steiner Actuarial Approach. Because it is more aggressive ... it produces higher spending budgets each year and therefore lower remaining assets at the end of the five year period.... If comparable assumptions are used, results under the two methods can be comparable, and the smoothing algorithm in the Steiner Actuarial Approach results in more real dollar stability in the retiree's spending budget from year to year."
5.  Confidently Boost Your Spending in Retirement with the Actuarial Approach
Ken Steiner, FSA Retired Link to more items from this source
Nov. 13, 2023
"[T]he Actuarial Approach is superior to Monte Carlo modeling for encouraging spending-hesitant households to increase spending is its ability to: distinguish between recurring vs. non-recurring expenses, anticipate reductions in expenses after the first death within the couple, and to assume lower than inflationary rates of increases in future discretionary spending."
6.  How Should Future Social Security 'Reform' Affect Your 2021 Spending Budget?
Ken Steiner, FSA Retired, and Bobbie Kalben, FSA Retired Link to more items from this source
Dec. 7, 2020
"[F]uture Social Security reform may decrease the future benefits you receive from the system and/or increase your future taxes in some manner.... [C]onsider how future uncertain Social Security reform might affect your current spending budget. To help you do this, this post will discuss the estimated size of Social Security's financial problem and several ways you can [the authors'] Actuarial Budget Calculator workbooks to reflect the potential impact of future system reform in your current financial plan."
7.  Plan on Future Adjustments to Your Retirement Plan
Ken Steiner, FSA Retired Link to more items from this source
Apr. 17, 2023
"[S]ome financial advisors and academics encourage use of 'safe' alternatives ... where future retirement plan adjustments are generally not anticipated. This type of planning is referred to as 'one-and-done' (or static) retirement planning.... [It] is very difficult to predict the future accurately and, as a result, it is very easy to either overspend or underspend relative to your spending goals when using these static approaches."
8.  Manage Your Financial Risks in Retirement Like an Actuary
Ken Steiner, FSA Retired Link to more items from this source
Sept. 5, 2023
"Instead of simply having faith that historical returns will continue in the future and believing your financial advisor's assessment that you have a 90% probability of not running out of money if you spend exactly $X per year, [the authors] recommend using [these steps] to better manage your financial risks in retirement.... [1] General actuarial process.... [2] Use a floor portfolio to fund essential expenses.... [3] Use conservative assumptions.... [4] Spend less."
9.  Hey Retirees and Near Retirees: How Is Your Current Retirement Plan Planning Process Working Out for You These Days?
Ken Steiner, FSA Retired Link to more items from this source
Oct. 10, 2022
"[A recent] report clearly indicates that many retired households are making important decisions without a great deal of reasonable input ... [A] good personal retirement planning process (or tool) will suggest actions relating to spending and investing that should be considered when considering retirement or when actual experience in retirement is more or less favorable than assumed (like during the current year)."
10.  Focus on Retirement Spending, Not Retirement Income
Ken Steiner, FSA Retired Link to more items from this source
June 14, 2020
"[A] fair number of [recent articles encourage] individuals and couples to cobble together Retirement Income Generators, or sources of retirement income, to meet their spending needs in retirement.... [W]hile this approach can work in fairly simplistic situations, and in fact is promoted as a simple alternative to other approaches, it falls short in many real-world situations."
11.  Who Will Be Responsible for Your Retirement?
Ken Steiner, FSA Retired Link to more items from this source
Sept. 25, 2019
"Managing one’s retirement can be a complex task.  Many retirement experts believe that, in general, people don’t have the necessary education to navigate the many retirement risks that households face.  They believe that either the government or employers (or both) should take various actions to try to help people make better retirement decisions..... [W]ith a little bit of education, many individuals could become better equipped to make reasonable retirement decisions. "
12.  When Can I Afford to Retire and When Should I Commence My Social Security Benefits?
Ken Steiner, FSA Retired Link to more items from this source
Dec. 12, 2017
"While it is common for retirement experts to tout the benefits of the Social Security deferral strategy as a way to maximize retirement income, ... continuing to work (and at the same time deferring commencement of Social Security benefits) produces much larger increases in expected retirement income than retiring and employing the Social Security deferral strategy."
13.  Are You Overestimating Your Future Retirement Spending Needs?
Ken Steiner, FSA Retired Link to more items from this source
Aug. 23, 2017
"[T]otal mean spending decreases with age.... [M]uch of the decrease in mean spending ... may be explained from spending reductions generally associated with retirement: Reduced FICA taxes; Reduced taxes; and Reduced work-related expenses, including savings for retirement.... [There are] several approaches you can consider (either before or after retirement) to possibly avoid over-estimating your spending needs in retirement ... These approaches are all designed to increase current spending budgets. You should be aware, however, that increasing current spending budgets may also decrease future spending budgets, all things being equal, so these approaches should be considered more as 'Budget Shaping' approaches."
14.  How Much of That Part-Time Income Can You Afford to Spend in Retirement?
Ken Steiner, FSA Retired Link to more items from this source
May 26, 2016
"Many individuals who are retired take a part-time job to supplement their income in retirement. Frequently, these retirees believe that this income can increase their annual retirement spending budget by the net amount received during the year from such employment ... [This article] will encourage retirees who work to possibly consider taking a longer-term 'actuarial' perspective by spreading the present value of this extra income over their remaining period of retirement."
15.  Planning for Constant Real-Dollar Spending in Retirement -- Is It Setting the Bar Too High? Part 1
Ken Steiner, FSA Retired Link to more items from this source
Apr. 1, 2016
"While over-estimating future spending requirements/desires is certainly one way to inflate estimated assets needed for retirement, there are other ways to do this, including: [1] Underestimating future investment returns; [2] Overestimating future inflation; [3] Overestimating the period of retirement; [4] Underestimating the value of retirement assets; and [5] Underestimating actual future spending vs. budgeted spending. Thus, it can be somewhat risky for a retiree to focus on one planning assumption as a justification to reduce total retirement savings."
16.  So You Think You're Financially Prepared to Retire? Here Are Spreadsheet Tools to Test That Assumption
Ken Steiner, FSA Retired Link to more items from this source
Nov. 19, 2014
"Generally [this author's focus] is to help individuals who are already retired establish an annual spending budget.... This post is aimed at individuals who are close to retirement but are unsure of whether they have sufficient financial assets to meet their needs throughout retirement.... [T]he first step ... is to determine your spending needs in retirement.... The second step ... is to determine your total expected income for a year from all sources ... This is where the spreadsheet tools available on this website come into play."
17.  Deferring Commencement of Social Security Benefit is OK But Deferring Retirement is Better
Ken Steiner, FSA Retired Link to more items from this source
Apr. 29, 2014
"Deferring receipt of Social Security may be able to get you a little more retirement income (depending on assumptions employed and actual experience), but if you really want more retirement income, you need to defer both your retirement and Social Security benefit commencement date. This strategy works for you in two ways -- it should increase your accumulated retirement nest egg and it reduces the expected payout period."
18.  How Much Savings is Needed for Retirement?
Ken Steiner, FSA Retired Link to more items from this source
Apr. 25, 2014
"If Social Security income is around $30,000 per year (about the maximum in 2014) and no other retirement income sources exist, then total annual gross retirement income (Social Security and withdrawals according to the approach outlined in this website) for an individual retiring at age 67 with $1 million of accumulated savings will be about $75,000 to $80,000 depending on how much of the $1 million is used to purchase an immediate annuity (based on current annuity purchase rates) and/or whether the retiree delays receipt of Social Security benefits. This level of retirement income will probably be enough for many individuals who retire in the near future."
19.  Society of Actuaries/Financial Fitness Dynamic Retirement Planning Calculator: Pros and Cons
Ken Steiner, FSA Retired Link to more items from this source
Sept. 25, 2022
"The Society of Actuaries (SOA) recently released a retirement planning guide for older retirees entitled, 'Late-in-Life Decisions Guide.' ... [The Financial Fitness calculator (FFC)] could be a better financial planning tool than the 4% Rule ... However, some of the potential shortfalls of the FFC are significant and include: [1] No guidance on reasonable assumptions.... [2] Expenses and income in retirement are generally not linear as assumed by the FFC."
20.  Planning for Non-Recurring Expenses in Retirement
Ken Steiner, FSA Retired Link to more items from this source
Apr. 18, 2022
"When planning for retirement (in or near), it is important to anticipate what your expenses may be, both recurring and non-recurring. Researchers note that households may not anticipate incurring certain expenses and therefore, they may underfund their retirement goals or they may need to cut back on future discretionary expenses."
   Next »

Your Search Options

  • If you have selected the Any Word radio button, above:

    Enter a single word, or as many words as you'd like (perhaps some synonyms). An item will match if it contains any one of the words.

    If you enter several words, the search engine will determine which words are the most important. So you can enter a question. Or you can paste an excerpt of several paragraphs from an article on another website to find similar news items on BenefitsLink.

  • If you have selected the All Words radio button, above:

    Enter several words. An item will match only if it contain every one of the words.

  • If you have selected the Advanced radio button, above:

    Certain words and punctuation take on special meanings—

    • Quotation marks can be used to require an exact phrase, such as
      "standard of review"
    • The words AND, OR and NOT become logic operators, which are especially powerful when used with parentheses, such as
      (vested OR vesting OR lifetime) AND (retiree OR retirement) AND (health OR healthcare) AND (benefits OR coverage)
© 2024 BenefitsLink.com, Inc.