Description: The 2006 Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation PBGC Annual Performance and Accountability Report and the 2006 Annual Report of the PBGC each contain a summary of the results of the Sept. 30, 2006 actuarial valuation. The purpose of the separate Actuarial Valuation Report is to provide greater detail concerning the valuation of future benefits than is presented in PBGC's Annual Report.

Description: A pension plan uses Actuarial Equivalence to determine a 'fair' adjustment to pension benefits for form and timing of payment. The definition of Actuarial Equivalence is set in the Plan Document which may not have been reviewed for decades. With a wave of recent pension litigation in the U.S., plan sponsors, attorneys and actuaries now pay more attention to how pension plans define Actuarial Equivalence. How does a change in mortality table or interest rate affect the ultimate benefit? What are the requirements under ERISA and pertinent regulations? Are there court cases that have examined this question before? What are the issues behind the recent lawsuits and what can a plan sponsor do now to reduce their legal exposure? What alternative strategies are available for changing or not changing the definition in the plan document?