Description: This article is an excerpt taken from, Status of the Social Security and Medicare Programs: A Summary of the 2004 Annual Reports - A Message to the Public. From the Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees. From Pension Section News, September 2004, Issue No. 56.

Description: This article highlights how Pension Section actuaries are in the forefront of the debate on pension plan funding reform. Over the past year, the SOA Pension Section has been at the forefront of efforts to rethink how employer-sponsored pension plans are funded. Our initiative began in the fall of 2004 with a call for papers, asking members of the consulting, plan sponsor and academic communities to develop proposals that innovatively address the future of pension plan funding—with the goal of creating a better system. In order to provide a forum to discuss the resulting papers and debate various proposals for reform, a symposium was organized for pension experts and stakeholders to meet face-to-face. The symposium, officially titled 'The Future of Pension Plan Funding and Disclosure,' was held in Washington, D.C., on July 14-15, 2005. From Pension Section News, April 2006, No. 61.

Description: Sponsors of DB plans are being forced to focus on their plans as never before. A confluence of events—market downturn, aging workforce and changing legislation/regulation—has meant the status quo no longer applies to companies’ DB plans.

Description: The impact of bond default risk on retirement benefit obligations describes how the probability default on a bond is similar to the probability of death for an annuitant. Bonds are used to cash flow match retirement obligations cash flows to funding from bond. Just as the probability of non-payment happens on the liability side, we can do the same with selected bonds. The end result may be an adjustment to the discount rates used.

Description: Summary of E&E Proposals Adopted by The Board of Governors in June 2003 by Emily Kessler from Pension Section News, September 2003, Issue No. 53.

Description: Retirement income security under defined contribution plans depends upon sufficient savings and decumulating that savings so it provides an adequate income throughout retirement. Investment risk and longevity risk inherently complicate the latter task. The economic rationale for annuitization is clear in this context. However, annuitization rates have historically been very low, a phenomenon that is still not well understood. If retirees are making “rational” decisions based on full information, if their choices are consistent with the pursuit of their financial priorities, then low annuitization rates are not an issue for concern. In this case, retirees who annuitize and retirees who do not must have different financial priorities. However, research by the TIAA Institute shows that the decision to not annuitize is inconsistent with the stated financial priorities of most non-annuitants. It appears that non-annuitants do not und erstand that annuitization would address their financial priorities for retirement.

Description: The author reportsand reflectson the rich and diverse findings and viewpoints presented at the October, 2008 Future of Life Cycle Savings and Investment Conference held at the Boston University School of Management. Links to the papers presented and more details as to the conference, as well as to a video, are provided.

Description: This article summarizes the Traditional Actuarial Paradigm Roundtable discussion. From Pension Section News, April 2005, Issue No. 58.