Description: This article discusses the cost of vesting under TEFRA's accelerated benefit accrual and vesting rules for top-heavy plans.

Description: This is an essay on the measurement of the reasonableness of each individual non-economic actuarial assumption. From the Pension Section News, September 2008, Issue No. 68.

Description: The purpose of this paper is to discuss modified cost methods that have been proposed for small-plan valuations, The first portion of the paper deals with criteria for choosing a cost method. The next portions deal with small-plan characteristics and the potential shortcomings of conventional cost methods when applied to these plans. The final portion discusses two classes of modified cost methods that have been proposed for circumventing these shortcomings. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1983, Vol. 35.

Description: A discussion of the various Pension Plan Asset Valuation Methods. FromThe Pension Forum, August 2001, Volume 13, Issue No. 1.

Description: This discussion at a 1967 Regional Meeting is about methods of allocating investment income using the investment year method, the treatment of unrealized capital gains, considerations in choosing interest assumptions, and challenges presented when comparing investment yields among companies.

Description: Panelists at this session of the SOA 1998 Maui II Spring Meeting discuss details of the turnover assumption for the valuation of pension plans. A recently released SOA Turnover Study is discussed.

Description: 1993 SOA Annual Meeting, New York. This session is about the ASB proposed standard for pension economic assumptions. Topics included: 1. Methods of choosing discount rates. 2. Subsidiary assumptions that tie into discount rates. 3. Thoughts about the status report, comments received during the comment period, and insights into what the ASB is thinking about. 4. A financial viewpoint applied to economic assumptions.

Description: Panel presents various types of valuation methods used in pension valuation and issues that should be considered in the choice of a method. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Vol. 23, No. 1.

Description: This paper develops the theory for an exactly vested defined benefit model plan and is contrasted with the theory for a pure pension plan. From Actuarial Research Clearing House, 1978 , Volume 2.

Description: Financing a defined benefit pension plan can be accomplished in various ways. With the help of a one-life example, this paper gives an elementary actuarial perspective of the problems that arise when a new defined benefit pension plan is initiated, and of the various actuarial concepts and methods developed to ascertain the cost of these pension benefits. The paper shows the range of the cost alternatives conceptually available upon creation of the pension plan. Actuarial formulas are provided in footnotes. The paper is intended as an introduction to defined benefit pension cost determination as well as an elementary example which may be of value in explaining cost alternatives to an actuary's client. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1975, Vol. 27.