2021 CRI Annual Policy Innovation Forum:
The Georgetown Center for Retirement Initiatives (CRI) hosted an exclusive, invitation-only two-day virtual Policy Innovation Forum featuring U.S. and international thought leaders. The Forum is a premiere gathering where senior industry leaders, policymakers, and stakeholders discuss the key challenges of designing a retirement system focused on improving long-term outcomes to strengthen retirement security.
Because there is growing interest among both plan participants and plan sponsors in generating and protecting lifetime income, the 2021 Policy Innovation Forum focused on innovative new approaches being considered in the U.S. and other countries. The forum explored: 1) ways to address major risks to retirement income, including longevity, timing, investment, and inflation; and 2) major system designs and delivery reforms, including institutional changes both public and private, to address these major risks and generate income for retirees.
With grant support from the Berggruen Institute, the CRI issued a Call for Papers related to the 2021 forum theme, and we explored this research at the forum.
Confirmed speakers (see Agenda) included:
- Shlomo Benartzi, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus and Co-founder of the Behavioral Decision Making Group, UCLA Anderson School of Management
- Ali Khawar, Acting Assistant Secretary, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor
- Robert Merton, Distinguished Professor of Finance, Sloan School of Management, MIT
- Bradley Schurman, Founder and CEO, the Super Age
and many more!
As part of its annual, invitation-only 2021 Policy Innovation Forum held as a virtual event on November 2–3, 2021, the Georgetown CRI issued a Call for Papers. During the Forum, paper authors joined with experts from around the world as part of panel discussions exploring 1) ways to address major risks to retirement income, including longevity, timing, investment, and inflation; and 2) major system designs and delivery reforms, including institutional changes — both public and private — to address these major risks and generate income for retirees.
The following papers have been selected by the Georgetown Center for Retirement Initiatives to highlight as part of forthcoming proceedings of the Forum. Some of the papers were formally published after the Forum:
- David Blanchett and Michael Finke, “Guaranteed Income: A License to Spend,” published July 13, 2021.
- Olga M. Fuentes, Richard K. Fullmer, and Manuel Garcia-Huitron, “A Sustainable, Variable Lifetime Retirement Income Solution for the Chilean Pension System,” published March 28, 2022.
- Bonnie-Jeanne MacDonald, Barbara Sanders, Laura Strachan and Mitch Frazer, “Affordable Lifetime Pension Income for a Better Tomorrow: How we can address the $1.5 trillion decumulation disconnect in the Canadian retirement income system with Dynamic Pension pools” published November 16, 2021 by the National Institute on Ageing, Ryerson University and the Global Risk Institute.
- Mathieu Pellerin, “Investing for Retirement Income: A Comparison of Asset Allocation and Spending Strategies,” published July 6, 2021.
- Ayandev Saha, “Extending Pension Coverage to the Informal Sector in Rwanda,” unpublished working paper, submitted September 26, 2021.
Selected papers are eligible to receive an honorarium for the authors’ research contributions.
The CRI is grateful to the Berggruen Institute for its support of the 2021 Forum and this Call for Papers.
New Report Explores the Idea of a 21st Century Personal Pension
The annual CRI Policy Innovation Forum held in November 2021 convened U.S. and international thought leaders to discuss the challenges of designing retirement solutions for generating and securing reliable lifetime income. The Forum examined how to mitigate major risks to retirement income and the experiences of other nations. This report summarizes the ideas discussed, and highlights research papers chosen in a Forum-related Call for Papers. The CRI thanks the Berggruen Institute for its generous support of the Forum and this report.
Tuesday, November 2, 2021
11:00 a.m.–2:30 p.m. ET
Challenges and Innovations Shaping the Future of Retirement Income
in Defined Contribution (DC) Plans
11:00 a.m.–11:10 a.m.
Welcome and Opening Remarks
11:10 a.m.–Noon
The Annuitization Puzzle: Is it Possible to Narrow the Disconnect Between Interest and Action?
Presentation by Shlomo Benartzi, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus and Co-founder of the Behavioral Decision Making Group, UCLA Anderson School of Management: How Annuities and Digital Nudging Can Lead to Smarter Decumulation and a Longer Life
Noon–12:50 p.m.
The Promise, Perils, and Prospects for Income Products: What Are the Latest Innovations and How Well Do We Solve for Risks in Design?
12:50 p.m.–1:00 p.m.
Break
1:00 p.m.–1:30 p.m.
Keynote — A Regulator’s Perspective: Lifetime Income Issues and Challenges
1:30 p.m.–2:20 p.m.
Lessons in Behavior: Should Automatic Savings Tools Lead to Automatic Income Mechanisms? If Not, Why Not
2:20 p.m.–2:30 p.m.
Closing Comments
Wednesday, November 3, 2021
11:00 a.m.–2:30 p.m. ET
Global Mega-Trends Shaping the Future of Retirement Income
11:00 a.m.–11:10 a.m.
Welcome and Opening Remarks
11:10 a.m.–Noon
A Conversation with Nobel Laureate Dr. Robert Merton, Distinguished Professor of Finance, Sloan School of Management, MIT: An Integrated Approach to the Retirement Funding Challenge
Noon–12:50 p.m.
Collective Defined Contribution Plans and Tontines: What Costs and Risks Do They Address that Traditional Annuities Cannot?
12:50 p.m.–1:00 p.m.
Break
1:00 p.m.–1:30 p.m.
Keynote — Decoding Demographics
- Bradley Schurman, Founder and CEO, the Super Age
1:30 p.m.–2:20 p.m.
International Approaches to Retirement Income: What are Key Trends and Lessons for the U.S. Retirement System?
2:20 p.m.–2:30 p.m.
Closing Comments
Research Partner
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