Description: Paper that discusses a new funding method that would make the recommended contribution for funding purposes for public DB plans subject to an overriding minimum contribution OMC calculation.

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: In this article, the authors introduce a new policy-making model for pension plan funding which openly represents the uncertainty. The word 'policy' is used here to indicate a strategy which is intended to be followed most [but not necessarily all] of the time. In unusual circumstances, the policy will have to be modified at the end of the year to retain qualification. However, the frequency with which this remedial action is needed is controllable by the actuary [unlike the method of using expected values]. The simple substitution of expected values of random quantities produces an unknown frequency of last minute remedial actions at possibly disastrous investment costs to the pension plan. However, with this paper's techniques, once the actuary acknowledges the uncertainty associated with the various aspects of the pension plan, he/she can explicitly trade off the costs associated with remedial actions, tax penalties, etc. with the investment returns in order to meet the pension plan goals. The method that this paper introduces is a new Chance-Constrained Programming approach to selecting annual contribution levels and asset allocation [holding other factors fixed] that the authors believe will better fit the employer's goals while recognizing the many risks and constraints associated with defined benefit plans. From Actuarial Research Clearing House 1993, Vol. 3.

Description: It is common for a pension plan to be amended to improve benefits in respects of service after the date of amendment. This will be referred to as a non-retroactive amendment. The application of the entry age normal and projected unit credit cost methods to this situation requires that a decision be made about the way to handle such an amendment. In this paper, these two cost methods and their application to such an amendment are considered in turn. From Actuarial Research Clearing House 1994, Vol. 1.

Description: This paper investigates salary functions as they are used in the valuation of pension plans. Pension actuaries may find many of the ideas in this article useful. Moreover, the paper may be interesting to researchers in actuarial science. The main conclusion of this paper is that salary functions, as derived from the parametric models, yield gains and losses that can be quite small and, in some cases, less variable than non-parametric methods. From Actuarial Research Clearing House 1998, Vol. 1.

Description: This presentation of the panel discussion from the 1977 Record of the SOA Vol. 3 No. 4 examines pension valuation and assumptions particularly assumption setting for Social Security Benefits, assumptions and methods for smaller plans, early retirement assumptions and funding of supplementary benefits, gain/loss and valuation assumptions.

Description: Study of the impact of IRS proposed mortality tables on private sector pension plan costs, including liabilities, contributions and PBGC premiums.

Description: Article from The Actuary, December 1971 – volume 5 - Issue 10 that discusses the work of the Bank Administration Institute BAI, in particular, measuring the investment performance of pension funds for the purpose of inter-fund comparison.

Description: This is a review of the book, 'Guide to the Technical Side,' by Barnet N. Berin. The book was produced for the non-technician in the form of an easy-to-understand review of the technical aspects of pensions. Although this book has relatively little value for someone well-versed in the actuarial mathematics of pensions, Mr. Berin’s book could be useful for the non-pension actuary or the consultant who wants to familiarize himself with this subject. It should certainly prove a helpful volume for administrators of pension plans and for employers.

Description: This article discusses that mortality tables should reflect improving mortality. The Group Annuity Mortality table GAM-83 is probably the most common table used by pension actuaries—75 percent of the plans in Watson Wyatt’s “2003 Survey of Actuarial Assumptions and Funding” use GAM-83 for funding calculations. However, there are three more recently published tables that warrant consideration for use in pension valuations: UP-94, GAM-94 and RP-2000. From Pension Section News, January 2006, No. 60.