Description: This is a summary of a new research paper entitled: “Determining Discount Rates Required to Fund Defined Benefit Plans” by John Turner and three other economists, which describes a new way to look at pension funding for ongoing plans that is a variant of using expected returns (currently used in public plans) that takes into account the risk that contributions will be needed in the future for this year’s benefit accruals.

Description: This paper examines concepts from both financial economic and actuarial science as applied to defined benefit schemes using a simple discounted cash-flow framework as a reference point. From Current Pension Actuarial Practice in Light of Financial Economics Symposium, M-RS04-1.

Description: Chairperson’s column discussing the state of the world today and how that influences investment strategies and describes to seminars the section sponsored to keep members apprised of changes.

Description: A frustrating aspect of pension funding rules for U.S. plan sponsors is that contribution requirements are adversely correlated with business cycles. For example, not only did plan sponsors get hit with large contribution requirements in the perfect storm of the early 2000s, but many sponsors were prohibited from contributing in the late 1990s boom due to full funding limitations. This paper proposes that plan sponsors be allowed to contribute the normal cost as a deductible contribution each year. In hindsight, this would have allowed plan sponsors to pay for benefits as they accrued in the late 1990s and ultimately mitigated some of the crash of the early 2000s. The authors aim to demonstrate that a contribution policy allowing contributions to be at least equal to the normal cost will result in less volatility of contributions and improve the funded status over time.

Description: Statistics about the National Football League Players’ Pension Plan and its funded status.

Description: Statistics about the NFL players' pension plan funded status.

Description: Statistics about the National Hockey League Players’ Retirement Benefit Plan and its funded status.

Description: Statistics about AFTRA Retirement Plan and its funded status.

Description: A company considering the acquisition of, or merger with, another company or the divestiture of an operation may find that issues related to employee benefit programs have a profound effect on the viability ofthe transaction. This paper lists literature for the actuary to broaden his/her knowledge on the subject: both on mergers and acquisitions and on handling of employee benefits.

Description: Statistics about the MLB players' pension plan funded status