Description: This article announces a new research project, co-sponsored by a number of actuarial organizations, to evaluate macrodemographic and microsimulation models that could be used to analyze retirement and other public policy proposals.

Description: Summary of Social Security's automatic adjustments in benefits and other amounts taking effect at the beginning of 2014.

Description: Chairperson's corner for January 2020 In the Public Interest.

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: The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that the virtues of “marked-to-market” pension accounting are greatly exaggerated for both public and private pension plans. It is demonstrated that the “marked-to-market” paradigm, as applied to pensions, is based on a questionable economic foundation and may produce plenty of “misinformation” of its own. From the Pension Section News, September 2008, Issue No. 68.

Description: A summary of learnings about multiemployer and public plans. Encouraging all retirement actuaries to become better educated on the various sectors of the retirement industry. Take time to meet actuaries from other sectors to learn about their experiences and challenges. We’ll all benefit when we have a better understanding of each other and focus on areas of common concern rather than our differences

Description: Reflecting Congressional desire for unified reports on all Federal retirement systems, Public Law 95-595, signed by the President in October 1978, requires annual reports from these systems similar to the ERISA reports from private sector plans. The author, as Chief Actuary of the DoD, discusses the first report produced.

Description: The military retirement system is a funded, noncontributory, defined-benefit plan that includes nondisability retired pay, disability retired pay, and survivor annuity programs. This article discusses the additional benefits created by the Military Retirement Reform Act of 1986.

Description: The author assess the financial performance of pension privatization in Europe.