The Society of Actuaries (SOA) just published a series of short whitepapers or “briefs” that focus on some of the major decisions that are encountered by retirees.

This is a great resource for consumers who are seeking objective content produced by experts.

The Society has clearly made efforts to create content that is accessible to a non professional audience.  The briefs are clear, short and focus on consumer-relevant topics such as “when should I retire.”

There are 11 briefs, and the topics include:

Consumer discretionary spending is the major driver of the U.S. economy as household purchases make-up about 71 percent of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP).

Without growth in consumer spending, the economy would most likely go nowhere.

Since economic growth is generally considered a good thing, it stands to reason that we should be looking for things that contribute to consumer spending.

Liquidity or lack thereof tends to be a major concern when it comes to annuities.

Many financial advisors and consumers are reluctant to use annuities because money allocated to annuity products tends to be tied-up and inaccessible for a period of time.  In other words, annuities lack liquidity or are “illiquid.”

In contrast, exchange traded funds (ETF) or shares of IBM stock are highly liquid as they can almost always be easily sold for cash.   

Don MaNay is a financial columnist, a Huffington Post contributor and an expert in the field of structured settlements. 

Don’s financial guidance is refreshingly straightforward, filled with good common sense, and geared towards a Main Street audience.  His most recent book is titled Wealth Without Wall Street: A Main Street Guide to Making Money. 

We had an opportunity to speak to Don about his financial practice and his most recent book.  

A recent paper sponsored by the Society of actuaries provides an impressive and comprehensive review of retirement income-related research. 

The paper, titled Research and Reality – A Literature Review on Drawing Down Retirement Financial Savings, can be accessed by clicking here. 

A common question is how annuities compare to other financial products that seem similar such as bonds, certificates of deposit (CD) and money market funds.  After all, each of these products promises to provide some type of fixed return in exchange for your investment. 

Looking at a simple life annuity can help answer this question and may also highlight what makes the life annuities unique among all financial products. 

What options are available to a soon-to-be retired household that is financially constrained?  What levers can be pulled if desired retirement spending is not realistic in light of retirement savings?

The odds of financial success in retirement for the typical American household are less than ten percent.

This is based on the financial profile of an American household that would be considered statistically average.  We developed the financial profile of an average American retiree in a previous article (click here to read).  

Two health researchers delve into an eight decade longevity study conducted by a Stanford psychologist in the recently released book titled The Longevity Project. 

The Stanford longevity study follows 1,500 people over the course of their lives and chronicles each of those lives in great detail.

The Longevity Project offers some findings that cut against the grain of conventional wisdom in the longevity field.

Roughly 10,000 Americans will retire each day for the next nineteen years.  Many millions of these retirees will have financial profiles that are considered statistically average.  

What, exactly, does it mean to be financially average, and what might retirement look like for the average person or household?  How might the financial aspects of retirement play-out for you, your parents, or your family and friends?