Description: This is a review of the book, 'Retirement Systems for Public Employees' by Thomas P. Bleakney, F.S.A. This book assumes considerable importance in the literature dealing with Pension subjects because it speaks authoritatively about a major segment of the Pension field concerning which very little has been written. In summary, the book consistently takes a calm, dispassionate, academic view of this category of pension plans that exist in a pragmatic, political, and sometimes volatile environment. Considering the expected readership, the author does a particularly fine job of discussing the actuarial aspects and the investment aspects.

Description: This paper describes the impact of inflation on the design, reporting, and actuarial analysis of the federal retirement programs for civilian employees and military personnel. The impact of inflation on these programs is of interest not only because federal annuity payments are a large portion of the federal budget, but also because the annuities have been fully indexed since 1963 and have gone through many of the design and valuation problems that would be experienced by other fully indexed pension systems. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1982, Vol. 34.

Description: This discussion explores advanced funding of pension benefits under public employee retirement plans and if annual reports to participants under public employee retirement plans should include information as to the financial operation of the plan. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1961, Vol. 13, Pt. 2.

Description: The SOA hosted the 2009 Public Pension Finance Symposium in Chicago, May 18–19 2009. Tom Lowman provides us with a short and insightful summary of each session from the symposium.

Description: This report investigates the financial consequences of delaying CPP payments. The intent is to provide a quantitative basis to better inform the take-up decisions of Canadians for whom delaying CPP benefits might provide improved financial outcomes and greater retirement income security.

Description: Update to the SOA's longitudinal analysis of contributions among state-based and large-city pension plans in the U.S.

Description: In February 2008, the American Academy of Actuaries and and the Society of Actuaries Pension Section Council co-sponsored a lively roundtable discussion of the role of funding, disclosure and investment for public pension plans. This article presents the author’s observations and interpretations of the roundtable discussion.

Description: This research, based on data from regulatory filings in Ontario, with supplementary information from British Columbia and the United States, examines funding valuation discount rates.

Description: A comparison of Social Security benefits, for a hypothetical new entrant to the program, between the 1972 Social Security Act and the 1977 Social Security Act.

Description: This paper is directed principally at the broad question of financing the fifteen federal retirement systems which cover various classes of federal employees. Additionally included is a discussion of the paper with comments from a number of actuaries and the author's review of the discussion. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1964, Vol. 16, Pt. 1, No. 46.