Description: Panel discusses the selection of both economic and demographic assumptions in funding pension plans. They include the impact on selection of economic assumptions from the recently released Actuarial Standard of Practice [ASOP] No. 27, 'Selection of Economic Assumptions for Measuring Pension Obligations.' From the 1997 Record of Society of Actuaries, Vol. 23, No. 3.

Description: An article that highlights the paper Retirement Trends and Patterns in the 1990s: The End of an Era? The trend toward earlier retirement is documented and the influences of a possible shift in this trend are considered. From the Pension Section News, August 1998.

Description: A response to the comments on the paper.

Description: This paper gives a mathematical proof of the frequently expressed concept that under the entry age normal method of valuing a retirement plan, the salary scale applies retroactively. That is, it demonstrates that the valuation of a plan assumes that all past contributions to the plan were based on salaries which, when projected by the salary scale, reproduce the present level of income. The concept of retroactivity is also applied to a situation where there is a constant offset such as the social security benefit. In addition, the paper discusses the effect on this liability resulting from an increase in salary in excess of the increase provided by the salary scale and the effect on the liability of certain types of salary-scale changes. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1973, Vol. 25, Pt. 1, No. 72AB.

Description: Introduction gives a general overview the contents of the monograph. From A Study of Public Employees Retirement Systems, M-RS96-1.

Description: Chapter 5 reviews the investment plans of four Florida, Louisiana, Minnesota, and California public employee systems concentrating on three main topics: general summary of fund and portfolio characteristics, comparisons of target asset allocations policies, and reviews of investment policies. From A Study of Public Employees Retirement Systems, M-RS96-1.

Description: Chapter 6 summarizes the findings for key actuarial assumptions in each of the following categories: active mortality, disablement rates, withdrawal rates, retirement rates, retiree mortality, disabled mortality, interest rates, salary scales, actuarial cost methods, ans asset valuation methods. From A Study of Public Employees Retirement Systems, M-RS96-1.

Description: Chapter 3 presents a very general overview of the data from public employee retirement systems in California, Mississippi, New York, Ohio, and Texaseach in respect to demographic and economic assumptions. From A Study of Public Employees Retirement Systems, M-RS96-1.

Description: Chapter 4 offers a summary of the assumptions and methods used in the various actuarial valuation reports that were collected, giving a general understanding for the continuum of actuarial bases. No attempt is made to draw any strong statistical conclusions. From A Study of Public Employees Retirement Systems, M-RS96-1.

Description: Chapter 2 describes the general categories of results that the study gleaned from the vast amount of data gathered: active mortality rates, disablement rates, termination rates, retirement rates, retiree morality, disabled mortality, interest rates, and salary scales. From A Study of Public Employees Retirement Systems, M-RS96-1.