Description: This session from the 2003 SOA Spring Meeting discusses current economic conditions and their implications on the funding, plan design and administration of pension plans. It also discusses the role of the FSA and EA in a small consulting firm and the future of consulting actuaries. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Volume 29, No. 2, Session 56pd.

Description: Summary sheet of the report, Tale of Two Pension Plans: Measuring Pension Plan Risk From an Economic Capital Perspective.

Description: The purpose of this paper is to sketch the mathematical functions which are needed in valuing the benefits of a self-insured plan, and to study certain problems that arise in connection with the valuation of these plans. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1950, Vol. 2, No. 2.

Description: 10 Considerations for DB Pension Plans in Light of the Coronavirus Crisis of 2020. The article discusses the following topics: ERISA funded status & benefit restrictions; cash contributions & tax deductibility; PBGC premiums; Pension Accounting Expense; Commencing Benefits After Normal Retirement Age; Bringing Back Former Participants; Actuarial Assumptions; Asset Allocation and Re-Risking; De-Risking Expectations and Future Funding Relief

Description: Private defined benefit pension plans must, by law, pre-fund the retirement benefits. This requires the periodic valuation of liabilities and calculation of contributions. Because valuation assumptions are seldom borne out by reality, a surplus [or deficit] ensues and varies over time. When the surplus becomes sizable, there often arises a desire to distribute part of it so as to bring it down to a more reasonable level. This paper provides a brief overview of cooperative game theory and, in particular, sharing rules. Then, using certain sharing rules, it determines how to split the surplus or deficit among the plan participants and sponsor. In general, the participant's share in the surplus depends on the total of his contributions. Other considerations, such as the actual investment income received on his contributions or the years of service, may influence the distribution of the surplus. It may even appear desirable to take account of the accrued liability. From Actuarial Research Clearing House 1998, Vol. 1.

Description: This session from the 1995 SOA Vancouver Meeting focuses on the equation of balance and how different pieces of the funding standard account FSA and the unfunded accrued liability UAL are tied together. It also looks at the charges and credits that flow through the FSA from the General Agreement on Terriffs and Trades 'GATT'. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Vol. 21, No. 3b.

Description: This study examines reductions in retirement benefits from the decline in defined benefit plans and increases in defined contribution plans during the past 20 years and what effect this has on workforce management. In particular how this change is affecting older workers’ decisions to retire and what effect this could have on companies. An underlying assumption implicit in evaluating the benefit of retirement of older workers is that productivity declines in old age while pay does not, leading to a pay productivity gap that could have an adverse effect on the employer from delayed retirement. The validity of this assumption was also examined.

Description: This is a discussion of the paper, Actuarial Note: The Valuation of Self-Insured Retirement Plans by Joseph C. Noback. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1950, Vol. 2, No. 4.

Description: The Society of Actuaries is pleased to make available a research report that investigates defined benefit retirement plan de-risking activities for U.S.-based companies and the relative impact of various implemented strategies.

Description: This study explores whether public pension plans have contributed enough to reduce unfunded liabilities, absent other influences such as investment returns.