Description: This article explores the findings of a survey which indicates that employers who offer both a pension and a savings plan have plans that are more generous, use more channels for employee communication, and are more attentive to plan management activities. From Pension Section News, February 2002, Issue No. 48.

Description: This article describes a simplified problem in pension plan financing and presents two questions about how it can be modeled. Answers to these questions will be discussed and their implications for traditional actuarial models will be presented in Part 2 of the article in the following issue of the newsletter.

Description: Spending down (decumulating) assets during retirement involves complex decisions about which specific assets to liquidate in what amounts, in what order, and at what times. No established methodology exists for making these decisions in individual cases. This paper describes a manual process that individuals can follow, a process that could be automated for wider use.

Description: This article summarizes the focus of the inaugural The Pension Conference which is the difficult investment environment for pension plans and the increased choice and competition that accompany that environment.

Description: The introduction of a chart which summarizes post-retirement risks as a resource to actuaries and plan sponsors. The full chart is available on the Society web site.

Description: ASOP No. 6 Exposure Draft Provisions Relating to Community Rated HMO Contracts by J. Richard Hogue from Pension Section News, February 2002, Issue No. 48.

Description: Argues that most retirees face multiple financial risks that need to be considered simultaneously so that limited resources can be applied in a manner that is rational and satisfying. A specific procedure for developing such an individualized risk strategy is described.