Anna Rappaport is an internationally recognized expert on the impact of change on retirement systems and workforce issues. Following a 28-year career with Mercer Human Resource Consulting, Rappaport has established her own firm, specializing in strategies for better retirement systems. Prior to working with Mercer she spent the years from 1958-1976 in the life insurance industry.   Rappaport has helped many organizations develop their strategies with regard to retirement benefits.  She is committed to improving America’s retirement systems, with special focus on women’s retirement security.  In her organizational participation, writing and speaking, she brings forward important issues to ensure that decision makers can act on the best available information, strongly driven by facts and thorough analysis.

Proven Leadership  
Rappaport was writing and studying the implications of our changing demographics for financial security systems long before Workforce 2000 was a popular issue. The topics she focuses on include the future of employee benefits, strategy for pension benefits, implications of an aging workforce, phased retirement, post-retirement risk, retiree health, Social Security and women’s special retirement challenges. She was a delegate to the 1998 and 2002 National Summits on Retirement Savings. She has been a leader in the planning and management of several major research projects by the actuarial profession focused on enhancing retirement security in America. Rappaport was a member of the 2003 Technical Panel of the Social Security Advisory Board. She is a frequent speaker and contributor to business and trade publications, and is the co-author of three books on the topics of demographics, retiree medical and retirement. For many years, she wrote a column on post-employment benefits for Employee Benefit Plan Review. She is an EBRI fellow. 

In 2010, she was appointed to a three year term on the ERISA Advisory Council. She also serves on the GAO’s Retirement Security Advisory Panel. In 2007, she was appointed Senior Fellow on Pensions & Retirement by The Conference Board. Rappaport is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, a member of the American Academy of Actuaries and holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Chicago. 

Awards

• Wynn Kent Public Communication Award 

• Workers in Employee Benefits named her Employee Benefits Professional of the Decade in connection with their 10th anniversary.  

• Business Insurance selected her as one of the top 100 women in Benefits and Insurance in October 2000.  

• In March 2003, Anna received the Illinois State Treasurer’s Woman to Woman Award as a Trailblazer in Public Policy.  

• Anna was the recipient of the YWCA’s Outstanding Achievement in Business Award in October 2003. 

• She received The Society of Actuaries John E. O’Connor Distinguished Service Award for 2003. 

• In October 2005, WISER awarded her a Heros Award for her contributions to furthering women’s retirement security.

• Actuarial Foundation Insurance Legends Award in 2011

• 2011 Society of Actuaries Outstanding Volunteer Award

Organizational Participation
Anna Rappaport has participated in many organizations, committees and Boards.  

• In 2007, she was appointed Senior Fellow on Pensions & Retirement by The Conference Board.

• Society of Actuaries – Served as President of the Society of Actuaries in 1997-98.  She served on the Board of the Society of Actuaries in four decades, and completed 45 years as a Fellow in 2008.   She has chaired the Committee on Post-Retirement Needs and Risks since its inception, and has encouraged the actuarial profession to focus on post-retirement risks and work to improve the retirement system in America. The Committee has sponsored the 2001, 2003, 2005, and 2007, 2009 and 2001 surveys on post-retirement risk, produced the Post-Retirement Chart, conduct focus groups on how retirement assets are invested, produced two reports on misperceptions and public knowledge about retirement, and it is currently conducting several additional studies. She has been a regular presenter at SOA meetings.She is a member of the Retirement 20/20 Advisory Panel. Retirement 20/20 is a project to focus on the future of retirement systems. She speaks frequently at SOA meetings, and has written many papers and articles for SOA publications. 

• National Academy of Social Insurance – Served two terms on the Board with Board service ending in 2008, she has spoken at NASI conferences. NASI provides a multi-disciplinary focus on major social insurance issues. It sponsors research, public information, education and conferences. NASI provides a resource for the press on social insurance. Served as Chair of Membership Committee in 2006-2007

• Pension Research Council – Currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Pension Research Council located within the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.   She co-authored three books whose publication was sponsored by the Pension Research Council. 

• WISER – Currently serves on the Board of WISER.  She has chaired the Consumer Education Committee of the Actuarial Foundation which has partnered with WISER in the development of important educational materials for women on key retirement issues. She was very involved in the development of these resources.   See the Resources section for links to the two publications jointly sponsored: Making Your Money Last a Lifetime and Seven Life-Defining Financial Decisions.

• ERISA Advisory Council – Advisory group appointed by the U.S. Department of Labor. Serving a three year term for 2010-2012 representing actuarial consulting. Each member is appointed to a slot designated by the DOL. Served as Issue Chair for Privacy and Security topic in 2011.

  Actuarial Foundation – Appointed as Trustee Emeritus in 2007, and continues to serve on Consumer Financial Education Committee. Previously served on the Board of the Actuarial Foundation and was first chair of its Consumer Education Committee. In 2007, Anna Rappaport was the lead speaker and played a major role in the Joint Task Force’s symposium “Women at Risk: Timing, Financing and Coping with Retirementt" (see Actuarial Foundation Website)

• Profit Sharing Council of America – Rappaport's term on the Board of the PSCA ended in September, 2005.   She has made several presentations at PSCA meetings and worked with PSCA on a project focused on the value of the employer. 

• American Academy of Actuaries – Previously served on the Board, task forces, and committees of the Academy. This organization works in partnership with the SOA on many of the post-retirement risk issues and has been instrumental in bringing the major work of the Committee on Post-Retirement Needs and Risks to the U.S. Congress.   

• The Chicago Network – Member of the Chicago Network, an organization of very senior professional women in the Chicago area.

• Joint task force on elder women's law issues of the Chicago Bar Association and the Women's Bar Association of Illinois (Task Force on Women and Aging) - while not an attorney, Rappaport has served as a member of this group and helped this group to organize two community forums in Chicago on Social Security Reform and women.   The objective of these forums has been to increase understanding of how women have different retirement needs and to help enable participants to work to get more focus on women's retirement issues.   Rappaport serves as a pension resource for this group, which brings together many different organizations and groups in the Chicago area.

• Employee Benefits Research Institute (EBRI) - Rappaport is a fellow of the institute, a major source of employee benefit and pension research.
  

• Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW) – serves on the National Advisory Board to the Elder Economic Security Initiative

• Retirement Income Industry Association (RIIA) – elected Special Advisor to the Board in 2009.