Thinking About Using Assets During Retirement
In the first half of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic changed the week-by-week lives of the vast majority of Americans. In June 2020, several months after the pandemic started, the question is whether it will also change our longer-term thinking about retirement and how to use our assets in retirement. This essay updates a “Perspectives from Anna” column I wrote in 2019 bringing together SOA research and how it influences the use of assets during retirement.
I have been thinking about managing accumulated assets during the post-retirement period for more than 20 years. Over the last few years, I have become more focused on people’s financial fragility and emergency funds. As a result of the research and discussions in the Society of Actuaries’ Committee on Post-Retirement Needs and Risks, I have gradually changed some of my thinking about the use of annuities and assets during the post-retirement period.