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Abstract: |
Retirement feasibility continuous to be on the minds of individuals and governments around the world, as home values, employment rates and stock prices continue to be depressed and guaranteed pension plans proceed on their march towards oblivion. And, although the financial planning field is satiated with books, the anxiety is now shifting from accumulation concerns – How much to save? Where to invest? Can I ever afford to retire? – towards distribution and income needs. The cold hard calculus now becomes: This is it. Do I have enough?
A separate (but relevant) development has been the increased interest amongst the lay public on all aspects of the popular books on particle physics, astronomy, quantum mechanics, etc., attest to the public’s interests in what can be ‘’hard science’’. In fact, many science-based TV shows, books and movies cater to a totally non-scientific audience. The exposition glosses-over the technical stuff, but still manages to provide an essence of the deep ideas.As this little suggests, this 60-minute lecture will quench these two thirsts, at once. It will present the 7 most important ‘’conversations’’ or principles around sound retirement income planning, by presenting the equations – and the breakthroughs – that are at the core of providing a sustainable retirement income. The narrative will weave in the biography and life story of people behind these discoveries,many of whom are quite colorful and interesting characters in their own right.In particular, the scientific core of this presentation will highlight the mathematical contributions to ‘’retirement income’’ planning of : Leonardo Fibonacci (1170-1250), Benjamin Gompertz (1779-1865), Edmond Halley (1656-1742), Irving Fisher (1867-1947), Paul Samuelson (1915-2009), Solomon Huebner (1882-1964) and Andrei Kolmogorov (1903-1987).Although various probabilistic concepts will be developed, the presentation itself will be accessible to a wide audience of faculty, practitioners and students. |
