Description: Comments from David Wescoe on session 5 of the Public Pension Finance Symposium.

Description: Interest rate changes and volatile equity returns have contributed to significant funding and expense volatility for defined benefit plans in recent years. This paper will describe the design of an option contract with payouts that are tied to the combined impact of interest rates and investment returns on the funding level of a defined benefit pension plan. Current derivatives used by plan sponsors can limit exposure to one of these risks; however, a derivative that combines these risks may provide more targeted protection to a plan sponsor at lower cost. This paper discusses several considerations in designing such a derivative. It will also briefly discuss pricing of the option. Finally, the difference in potential outcomes between plan funding with and without option ownership will be demonstrated. As an outcome of the design work, a new way to visualize pension risk that may be useful in sponsor accounting disclosures will be shown.

Description: The abstract for the paper Never Again

Description: From the Future of Pension Plan Funding and Disclosure Monograph, held July 14-15, 2005 in Washington, DC.

Description: The abstract for the paper Tax Considerations in a Mandatory Universal Pension System.

Description: The author's conclusion is that retirees focus should not be investment strategy or withdrawal rate but cash flow. From the 2011 Enterprise Risk Management Symposium, March 2011.

Description: This document summarizes the many potential hazards individuals may face during retirement. It is designed to serve as a complement to other retirement planning resources.

Description: 2007 Risks and Process of Retirement Survey Report - Understanding and Managing the Risks of Retirement

Description: This study, produced by the MetLife Mature Market Institute in partnership with the Society of Actuaries, demonstrates that family type is an important consideration in financial and retirement planning. This tip sheet, based on the study findings, provides areas that are important for all family types to consider, followed by additional considerations based on specific family types.

Description: This is a discussion about employee benefit plans after retirement. The following questions are addressed: 1. To what extent are death benefits and medical benefits for employees and dependents kept in force after the employee retires?, 2. Where there is a continuation of such benefits for a retired employee or his dependent, what special problems can result from remarriage or reemployment, or in the event of the enactment of a federal plan?, 3. What methods of paying for or funding such costs are used?, and 4. What are the tax implications to both the employee and employer of the various approaches? Also discussed are insured vs. non-insured plans and valuation standards for pension plans. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1964, Vol. 16 Pt. 2