Edition

Impact of Family Structure on Aspects of Retirement

Background and Purpose

Over the past few decades, family structure in the US has become more differentiated through a number of factors including current trends in marriage, partnerships, divorce and living arrangements. Growing numbers of families with structures that differ from what has been considered a “nuclear family” (father, mother and biological children in the same house) may face an added layer of complexity to many of the challenges and decisions that families need to address. In addition, the reduction in fertility rates has reduced the number of children per family and increased the number of childless families.

Some examples of differing family structures include:

  • Multigenerational households
  • Older adults with roommates
  • Single adult households
  • Single parent households
  • Same-sex marriage households, with or without children
  • Dual-income, no kids (DINK) households
  • Blended family households
  • Families of choice

Among the issues that families often face is how to plan for and achieve a secure retirement for family members that may be approaching retirement or are already in retirement, as well as addressing other aspects of retirement. Often there are gaps in planning that can lead to less than desirable outcomes. As part of this, family members may take on different roles and responsibilities, or none at all.

Given the trends in differing family structures and living arrangements, the Society of Actuaries Aging and Retirement Strategic Research Program (ARSRP) and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategic Research Program (DEISRP) are interested in an examination of the dynamics at play in how various aspects of retirement and resource sharing are considered among the different structures. The ARSRP and DEISRP are issuing this call for essays with the goal of publishing a collection of essays that represent a broad range of perspectives in this area.

Authors may wish to familiarize themselves with previous work of the SOA Research Institute including the following summary report Family is Important for Retirement Security (soa.org) and previous iterations of the biennial Retirement Risk Survey Post-Retirement Needs and Risks | SOA. A desired aspect of this effort is to further expand the work of the SOA Research Institute in this important area.

Sample Topics of Interest for Essays

The ARSRP and DEISRP are seeking essays that address the impact of family structure on various aspects of retirement. This invitation has been deliberately written broadly to allow respondents the flexibility to address this topic from one or more perspectives and approaches. Respondents are free to choose from one or more of the following sample topics below or consider others that fall within the scope of this call for essays as described in the above section. The sponsors are interested in the impact of these issues for a variety of stakeholders.

Case studies and personal experiences on any of these topics are welcome.

Please note that the list below is not meant to be exhaustive but merely examples of proposed topics that may be considered.

Sample topics include:

  • To what extent do members in different family structures, such as extended families, pool their resources for retirement purposes?
  • How do longer times until marriage and lower marriage rates impact family structure, family size, and planning for retirement?
  • What is the nature of resource sharing with regard to retirement across generations, and how does it differ among family structures? What is expected and what is actually happening with regard to children helping parents and parents helping children?
  • How does resource sharing for retirement purposes differ by factors such as race, ethnicity, cultural heritage, region, and religious background among family structures? To what extent are these factors independent of or dependent on socio-economic level?
  • To what extent do families of choice support each other in retirement and how? For instance, do they plan together? What data and information exists about how and whether they share retirement resources and manage them in retirement?
  • What specific retirement issues arise based on the geographic location of immediate and extended family members, i.e., members that live close to each other vs. members living far apart?
  • How will smaller family sizes affect the number of available family caregivers and level of support in retirement?
  • Will trends in LGBTQ+ marriages and partnerships have a significant impact on resources and financing of retirement for both individual households and society at large?
  • What are retirement issues that arise for blended families, which include children from previous and current marriages/partnerships?
  • What approaches are there for encouraging retirement planning by families? How would it differ for various family structures?
  • Are parents of adult "boomerang children" (children who have returned to live with parents after reaching adulthood) facing additional challenges or delays in achieving their retirement goals?
  • Are single adult households less prepared for retirement? Does the analysis change if they have roommates?
  • Are high costs (e.g. housing, childcare) preventing single-parent households from meeting retirement goals?
  • Are DINK (dual-income, no kids) households better prepared for retirement than the general population? Do these families have distinct retirement goals?

Rules for Submission of Essays

Timeline

The deadline for submissions is September 30, 2024. Essays will be published as soon as possible in a formal collection.

Length and Instructions for Submission

Essays must be submitted in English with a desired length of between 500 to 2,500 words. There is no requirement for formal or extensive footnoting.

Author information must be submitted with the essay and include name; credentials or designations (if appropriate); title; organization/company; e-mail address; and phone number. Please provide all author information at the beginning of the essay.

Essays that contain any overt political statements, commercial content, and other inappropriate material will not be accepted. Articles must comply with the SOA's antitrust guidelines.

Please submit your essay via e–mail to Research-AR@soa.org

Awards

$5,000 in award money has been allocated for this call for essays. The review committee will select the leading essays and determine how to allocate the award money among them. Consideration will be given to creativity, originality and the extent to which an idea might help promote further thought in this area. In exchange for award money, selected authors will be required to assign all copyrights in their essays to the Society of Actuaries Research Institute.

Authors are ineligible for awards if an essay is based on an SOA Research Institute-sponsored and funded research study conducted by the author. However, authors are welcome to submit such essays for publication consideration.

Publication and Presentation

Depending on how many essays are received and the range of the topic areas, a suitable format for electronic publication and dissemination will be selected. Essays may also be presented at an SOA meeting, webcast, or other professional development event.

In addition, other venues for publication or presentation of the ideas outside of the Institute will be considered. It is hoped that publication of the collected essays will further knowledge and stimulate discussion as well as promote future efforts in this area.

Rights Granted

Please understand that by submitting an essay for consideration, the essay author(s) is granting to the Society of Actuaries Research Institute an unlimited license to print or republish their essay, with proper attribution given to the author(s).

Questions

Please direct any questions regarding this Call for Essays to Research-AR@soa.org