Is President Obama ready to make retirement a top political issue?

While numerous advocacy groups certainly hope so, no less an entity than the American Academy of Actuaries is calling on him—and on Congress—“to make concerted progress this year to address the economic and financial challenges that affect Americans’ retirement and health security.”

Read: Overhaul retirement system, say labor economist and private equity head

“The White House has said the president will focus on ‘big things’ in the State of the Union address,” Tom Wildsmith, president of the Academy, said in a statement.

Wildsmith continued, “One of the biggest long-term challenges facing the country is ensuring the sustainability of the financial security systems that millions of Americans rely on to protect their health, retirement, and property. We cannot meet the challenges facing complex public programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid without relying on sound actuarial principles. These principles are also essential for preserving the viability of private-sector options, such as employer-sponsored pension plans or insurance coverage.”

It’s expected in some quarters that in his final SOTU address, Obama will go beyond his MyRA retirement plan—introduced in last year’s SOTU address—in proposals aimed at improving the financial security of retirees.

He’s expected to discuss a number of measures aimed at bettering retirement preparedness and security, which have already come under fire from various financial organizations.

The only sure thing is that, no matter what he proposes—or omits—there will be criticism.

The Academy, for its part, has already decided that the promotion of lifetime income is one if its priorities with regard to retirement. Its “Lifetime Income Initiative,” spearheaded by its Lifetime Income Risk Joint Task Force, focuses on “address[ing] the risks and related issues of inadequate lifetime income among retirees,” according to its website. The task force’s goal is to “educate the public, lawmakers, regulators, financial advisors, employers and the media on the risk of inadequate lifetime income.”

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Will retirement have a place in Obama&rsquo;s final SOTU speech?

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Will retirement have a place in Obama’s final SOTU speech?