Description: Hear from the chairperson on themes in the May 2017 Pension Section News published by the Pension Section.

Description: Update on the activities of the Retirement Plans Experience Committee

Description: This 1981 discussion session is about public policy with respect to retirement matters in the United States and Canada.

Description: The American Council of Life Insurers provides an update on recent tax-related ACLI activity. Topics in this issue include (1) the NAIC's Principle-Based Reserves (PBR) Review Working Group and its exposed revisions to the Annual Statement Blanks; (2) ongoing communications with the Internal Revenue Service and Treasury to seek published guidance on PBR; (3) an update on tax reform activity in Congress; (4) the framework for change issued by the NAIC's Variable Annuities Issues (E) Working Group; and (5) the ERISA Advisory Council's development of model notices and disclosures for pension risk transfers.

Description: This 1981 article is a discussion of pension reform in Canada, noting that in the last four years there have five government-commissioned studies, resulting in various recommendations covering government and private sector plans. There was consensus on several conclusions - namely that there is too much poverty among the elderly, particularly women, current vesting and portability rules hurt mobile workers, and inflation needs to be addressed.

Description: This article on pensions and tax expenditures discusses the problems in the development of the numbers provided by the Office of Management and Budget. Tax reform proposals that quantify increases in tax revenue that would result from elimination of tax advantages of qualified pension plans are flawed in the author's opinion.

Description: This report presents the results of the work undertaken in response to the SIPF’s request. The premise of this work is that there is a need for a concise but still comprehensive and focused report on the financial health and prospects of state and municipal plans to give stakeholders the overview they need to come to informed opinions about the need for changes to the structure of these plans. The report needs to strike a balance between narrative and quantitative indicators of a plan’s financial health.

Description: The author finds that misperceptions and lack of an appropriate context are the reason that illiquid investments - in particular annuities- have been the less desirable component of a retirement plan. The paper also suggests several catalysts that could spark a dramatic reversal of the current situation. From the 2011 Enterprise Risk Management Symposium, March 2011.

Description: This session discussion is an overview of pension issues and recent developments for the non-pension actuary, TRA 86, regulatory developments, FASB and plan design issues. From Record of the Society of Actuaries Vol. 14, No. .

Description: Interview with Joseph Goodman, vice president at Compass Lexecon.