Retirement Report, Spring 2023
Vol 6 | No. 1
Date:03/01/2023
Now Live: The Academy’s Social Security Challenge

The Academy’s new Social Security Challenge went live in March. Offering a look at the popular program’s funding and reform options, the interactive tool is a timely contribution to the public dialogue, and in line with the Academy’s public policy mission.
The Challenge immerses users in an animated trek through “Townsville,” where users can learn about the program’s challenges and try their hand at various reform proposals. Give it a try and share it with your friends and colleagues. Take the Challenge.
“Assuring that Social Security stays strong into the future means evaluating very different reform options with complex and wide-ranging impacts, such as making higher levels of income subject to payroll taxes or raising the retirement age, and then implementing the chosen approaches,” said Academy Senior Pension Fellow Linda K. Stone. Read the Academy news release.
Media Coverage
The Academy shared the Challenge’s launch with legislators, stakeholders in the retirement space, and the news media to inform the important ongoing dialogue about the solvency issue facing Social Security, and possible solutions, based on our extensive work in this area.
The launch generated media coverage among several prominent outlets. CNBC, Forbes, MarketWatch and MarketWatch’s Retirement Weekly, The Arizona Republic, The Street’s Retirement Daily, Think Advisor, Go Banking Rates (reprinted by AOL News and Yahoo! Finance), and Financial Planning all reported on the release. The Columbian (Wash.) reprinted a column from the Los Angeles Times citing data from the Challenge, and CNN mentioned the Academy’s Social Security-related work in a story discussed raising the retirement age—one of the reform options in the Challenge.
Trustees Report—Issue Brief, Webinar Set
In late March, the Social Security Committee sent a letter to members of Congress offering insights on the Challenge, in advance of the annual Social Security Trustees Report, which was released on March 31. The report showed that Social Security’s trust funds are projected to have sufficient revenue to pay benefits until 2034—one year earlier than estimated in last year’s report. Read the Academy alert.
The Pension Practice Council (PPC) plans to release an issue brief on the report soon, and will host an April 25 webinar, “Social Security Trustees Report: A Deep-Dive Discussion With the Program’s Actuaries,” which will feature Stephen Goss, chief actuary of the Social Security Administration. The webinar will discuss the assumptions and how residual effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and recent developments like updated data on inflation and output are reflected in projections. Register today.

Contingencies Feature; Essential Elements Updated
Recent Academy publications also covered the Challenge and Social Security issues. The March/April issue Contingencies cover story “Are You Up for the Challenge?” previewed why the Academy updated the Challenge from the previous Social Security Game.
A new Essential Elements paper, Raising the Social Security Retirement Age, presents a more public-facing digest of the Social Security Committee’s March 2022 issue brief of the same name.
Pension Volunteers Visit Federal Agencies
PPC Volunteers at the Department of Labor
Academy Pension Practice Council (PPC) volunteers visited government agencies including the Government Accountability Office, the Congressional Budget Office, the U.S. Department of Labor, and the Congressional Research Service. They discussed agency priorities surrounding retirement, pensions, and Social Security, and recent and upcoming Academy work on retirement issues, including the newly released Social Security Challenge.
‘Hill Visits’ Coming Soon
The PPC is also planning “Hill Visits” later this spring—virtual and in-person meetings with federal lawmakers and policymakers on and around Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
May 18 Webinar to Look at Fixed Rate Practice Note
Join the Public Plans Committee for next month’s webinar, “Fixed-Rate Pension Funding: A Discussion of the Practice Note,” which will feature presenters discussing the Public Plans Committee’s February practice note, Fixed Rate Pension Funding.
The committee published the practice note detailing considerations for working with public defined benefit pension plans that use fixed-rate funding; it begins by addressing a straightforward case of a plan with a fixed contribution rate defined in statute, only one tier of benefits, no automatic adjustments to the rate or to benefits, and not yet fully funded.
The webinar is set for May 18—register today.
Available On-Demand: Pension Webinars Look at Capital Markets, Public Plans Practice Note
Slides and audio are available free to logged-in Academy members for the following pension webinars held earlier this year:
Capital Markets
In “Capital Market Outlook—What to Expect After 2022’s Roller-Coaster Ride,” Evan Inglis and Jerry Mingione presented, and Pension Committee member Maria Moliterno moderated. Presenters discussed the inflation spike that followed historically low interest rates and high capital market pricing, and whether this is the “new normal.”
Pension Practice Note
The February webinar, “Measuring Pension Obligations for Difficult-to-Value Plan Provisions: A Discussion of the Practice Note,” offered a deep dive into the practice note of the same name released in December, in which presenters discussed applicable actuarial standards of practice. Pension Committee member Rachel Barnes moderated.
The Social Security Administration is seeking a deputy chief actuary for short-range estimates. The incumbent is responsible for planning, directing, and coordinating the development of the short-range cost estimates for all Social Security programs, both under current provisions and proposed changes in law or regulations. For more information and to apply, see the posting at USA Jobs.
The Academy has long supported government employers who are seeking to hire qualified actuaries. For more information, see our Public Employment Opportunity Posting Policy.
- The collaborative U.S.-based actuarial organizations’ Intersector Group released notes from its January meetings with the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) and the IRS and U.S. Department of the Treasury.
- The Pension and Retirement Policy and Design Evaluation committees sent a letter to congressional leadership offering an actuarial perspective on retirement-related legislation that was ultimately adopted as part of the omnibus budget bill Congress passed before adjourning late last year. Read the Academy alert.
- The PBGC released its fiscal year 2022 annual report, examining the effectiveness of its multiemployer and single-employer insurance program. Read the Academy alert.
- The Multiemployer Plans Committee submitted comments to the PBGC on the PBGC’s proposed rule that provides interest rate assumptions regarding a withdrawing employer’s liability under a multiemployer plan.
Save the Date for 2023 Academy Annual Meeting

Mark your calendar for Academy’s Envision Tomorrow: 2023 Annual Meeting. This year’s event will be held Nov. 13–14 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. Registration will open later this spring.
Legislative/Regulatory Activity
The following is a roundup of recent state retirement-related legislative and regulatory activity.
Federal
President Biden on March 20 vetoed H.J. Res. 30, a resolution that would have disapproved of the U.S. Department of Labor’s final rule, “Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights.” The measure would have barred federal retirement plan managers from considering environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues in pension investment decisions. It was the first veto issued by Biden during his presidency. A House of Representatives effort to override the veto failed.
State
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed SB 116 into law on Feb. 23. The legislation would allow a public school teacher in the state who leaves active employment and later returns to the profession to purchase gap years for additional pension coverage at actuarial cost with the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System. The law is meant to encourage experienced teachers to return to the classroom.
The Arkansas House and Senate approved HB 1307, which would require the state treasurer and public entities to divest themselves from investments with certain financial service providers that are deemed to be using metrics related to environmental, social, and governance (ESG).
The Kansas Senate passed SB 291, legislation that would bar the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System and other agencies from using investment contractors that favor or disfavor certain companies due to ESG considerations.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear signed HB 506 into law on March 23. The legislation expands the size of partial lump-sum pension payments available to local and state government retirees, and provides clearer guidance on benefit payments available to individuals, including through the use of a benefit estimator on the Kentucky Public Pensions Authority website.
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed SB 18 into law on Feb. 13. The measure prevents state worker pension funds from raising retirement benefits unless the system amortizes in 30 years or less and the additional benefit is projected to be fully funded in perpetuity.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on March 30 signed HR 106 into law, which raises the top retirement benefit amount state employees can receive from 90% of their final salary to 100%.
The Texas Senate approved SB 10, a measure that would provide a cost-of-living increase of between 2% to 4% to retired Texas public school teachers.
In addition to the numerous media mentions of the Social Security Challenge outlined in the lead story, the Academy’s pension-related work was cited in the following media outlets:
Senior Pension Fellow Linda K. Stone discussed Social Security’s financial challenges and the recently released trustees report in a Think Advisor story.
Financial Advisor, Accounting Today, A.M. Best, and Advisor Magazinecited the Academy’s news release on the passage of SECURE 2.0 legislation. Plan Sponsor cited the Academy’s 2017 letter to the IRS and the Treasury Department in a story on how the SECURE Act expansion affects cash-balance plans.
Benefits Pro reported on the Academy’s recent comment letter to congressional leadership on provisions included in SECURE Act, the EARN Act, and the RISE & SHINE Act.
A Bloomberg Law story on the marketing of defined contribution in-plan lifetime income options mentioned the Academy’s support of the enacted SECURE Act.
Bloomberg Law (subscriber-only) reported on the PBGC annual report, and featured comments from Academy Multiemployer Plans Committee Vice Chairperson Joe Hicks and Pension Committee Vice Chairperson Grace Lattyak.
Sustainability cited the Pension Committee’s September 2020 issue brief, Impact of COVID-19 on Pension Plan Actuarial Experience and Assumptions, Including Mortality.
A Reason Foundation blog post on public plan funding risk cited the Academy pension report, Risk Management and Public Plan Retirement Systems.
One Digital cited the Academy’s issue brief, Pooled Employer Plans—Employer Considerations.
A Plan Sponsor story on actuarial changes of note for public pension plans in 2023 spotlighted the revised ASOP No. 4, Measuring Pension Obligations and Determining Pension Plan Costs or Contributions, whose effective date is Feb. 15.
“The Numbers” column in The Wall Street Journal spotlighted longevity risk and included illustrations from the Actuaries Longevity Illustrator, jointly sponsored by the Academy and the Society of Actuaries. The illustrator was also referenced in a Wealth Management column by prominent retirement and aging columnist and podcaster Mark Miller. A Financial Planning piece on retirement trends and readiness also cited the longevity illustrator.
A subscriber-only Barron’s article quoted Senior Pension Fellow Linda K. Stone on longevity and retirement planning. The article also cited the Actuaries Longevity Illustrator. Think Advisor published a similarly themed article focused on longevity issues after the Academy released the Social Security Challenge.
A Morningstar series of columns on Social Security financing and reform illustrated reform options using information from the Academy’s Social Security Game (now replaced with the Social Security Challenge). The column and the Academy’s work on Social Security reform were cited in a discussion of President Biden’s new budget proposal that aired on Delaware news radio 101.7 WDEL-FM.
A research article in the Journal of Risk and Insurance cited the Academy’s work and media interview comments in a discussion of pension risk transfers.
A story from the CT Mirror(Conn.), reprinted in the Hartford Business Journal, cited findings from the Academy’s issue brief, The 80% Pension Funding Myth. Forbes also cited the issue brief.