In response to a request from Senator Herb Kohl, Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, the DOL examined and reported on the options that retirees have for drawing on financial assets to replace pre-retirement income, as well as the options that they choose. In addition, the GAO examined how pensions, annuities and other retirement savings vehicles impact participants' security and behavior. view report
Phyllis Borzi, the Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), testified before the Senate Special Committee on Aging concerning retirement security. The testimony focused on lifetime income streams and the DOL activities regarding lifetime income options for participants in retirement plans. An important issue in the testimony was the prospect of a participant outliving his assets, sometimes called "longevity risk." Assistant Secretary Borzi also discussed the responses that the Department received in response to their request for information (RFI) on lifetime income. view testimony
In response to a request from Congressmen Pomeroy, Portland, Cardin, and English, in July 2003 the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report about the information that participants need and the risks they face in managing qualified plan assets during retirement. The GAO Report discusses issues concerning the draw-down of retirement savings and the investment of those assets, together with alternatives for dealing with the lifetime income issues. For example, the Report discusses the importance of educating participants about the risks affecting the level of their income, including risks about outliving assets and about declining purchasing power due to inflation. view report