By Janae Nelson
Policy Project Manager, Retirement
In 2026, the Retirement Practice Council (RPC) will focus on five priorities that address many retirement issues that retirees, workers, and policymakers are facing. Through its work products and engagement with policymakers and other external stakeholders, the RPC will continue to provide unbiased actuarial insights, information, and potential steps to help strengthen retirement security.
The RPC plans to focus on:
Retirement Security in the Context of a Changing Retirement Landscape. Workers today face increased financial security uncertainty before, during, and after retirement. The RPC’s recent publications have focused on gig workers, public sector workers, spousal protections, and lifetime income. Future work in this area will cover issues related to evolving family structure, mortality, growing retirement concerns, and the future of Social Security and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). The RPC will continue to examine a broad range of challenges and opportunities that affect retirement security.
Social Security Reform. Social Security reform remains one of the RPC’s top priorities as the program faces trust fund reserve depletion, which the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) trustees estimate will occur in 2034. The RPC’s Social Security Committee continues to provide education and amplify awareness through their annual webinar and policy paper about the annual Social Security Administration’s Trustees Report. The committee’s issue brief on the significance of the trust fund, debt/deficit, and the Social Security Challenge are valuable resources that can increase understanding of Social Security and proposals to preserve the program and its benefits to retirees. This year the committee plans to update its Reforming Social Security Sooner Rather Than Later issue brief, which will explain the importance of proposed or potential reforms and their implications for the public.
Lifetime Income in Defined Contribution (DC) Plans. Congress has shown interest in providing retirees with more lifetime income retirement plan options and the RPC’s Defined Contributions Subcommittee is exploring them as well. Its 2025 issue brief, Decumulation Strategies: Creating Lifetime Income from Defined Contribution Plans, outlines options currently available through employer-sponsored DC plans. The subcommittee is also working on an issue brief on lifetime income as a part of a plan’s Qualified Default Investment Alternative (QDIA), which it hopes to publish later this year.
Defined Benefit Revitalization (variable plan designs/Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) premium reform/use of surplus). Congress has shown renewed interest in defined benefit pension (DB) plans, which presents an opportunity for the RPC to explore and discuss the topic with them. The RPC will continue to engage with Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee staff and other policymakers to promote fuller understanding of DB issues, provide education and insights on variable plan design, PBGC premium reform, and pension risk transfer issues.
Multiemployer Plans (reform/withdrawal liability/special financial assistance (SFA) for terminated plans). The RPC’s Multiemployer Plans Committee is exploring potential reform options to PBGC’s Special Financial Assistance (SFA) program for policymakers to consider. The committee is monitoring developments in connection with multiemployer withdrawal liability and will continue to provide resources and education to key stakeholders on this issue.
Fall Retirement Symposium
In September, the RPC will host its third annual in-person retirement symposium in Washington, D.C. As we continue the conversation with federal stakeholders and other interested parties around retirement and financial security, we anticipate another successful event that brings together actuaries, federal legislative staff, federal regulators, and industry and public interest stakeholders. For information on this event or any of our upcoming webinars, visit the Academy’s events calendar. To find out more about the RPC’s activities or to volunteer, visit the council’s web page.