Please join us for lunch, learning and conversation about women and aging issues.  

What Happens Later in Retirement: Insights from Research with Retirees Age 85 and Over

Presented by Anna Rappaport 

The Society of Actuaries has conducted a series of three studies to help us understand the real situation of middle-class Americans and Canadians age 85 and over.  The three studies are in-depth interviews with individuals and their children, a telephone survey of individuals, and on-line survey of children familiar with the situation of parents age 85 and over. The Committee on Post-Retirement Needs and Risks also conducted an online discussion about cognitive decline. In this session we will share surprises and insights into how people do over the entire period of retirement, insights about long-term care and other findings from these studies.  Actual experiences do not always fit what experts predict.  The findings include understanding the finances and needs of retirees, the kind of help they receive from family, needs for care and support and decisions around housing. Insights from the discussion will include reasons why people buy long-term care and highlights of experiences with cognitive decline. This session will also cover what these findings mean for retirement planning (including long-term care planning) and what the issues are that people at younger ages are forgetting or not dealing with well.  They will include some surprises because people often do not do what traditionally planning says they should do.

Anna Rappaport, F.S.A., M.A.A.A., is an actuary, consultant, author, and speaker, and is a nationally and internationally recognized expert on the impact of change on retirement systems and workforce issues.  She is a phased retiree and is passionate about women’s retirement security. Anna is a past-President of the Society of Actuaries and chairs its Committee on Post-Retirement Needs and Risks. Anna has been involved with the Society of Actuaries retirement risk research since its inception. She has been very actively involved with the Society of Actuaries research on individuals over age 85. She has been a member of the Bar Association Task Force for many years,  and has spoken several times as Task Force meetings.  Anna serves on the Board of the Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER), and the Advisory Board of the Pension Research Council. Anna completed 50 years as a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries in 2013.  Anna served on the ERISA Advisory Council from 2010 to 2012. She was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Plan Sponsor Council of America in 2017.  She has an MBA from the University of Chicago.  She is also a painter. For more information, consult her website, www.annarappaport.com.