Description: In the U.S. in the late 1980’s, the Internal Revenue Service was taking steps to try to institute explicit boundaries for the actuarial assumptions being used in 'funding' valuations to determine the appropriate contribution levels for small pension plans. This article was written in the context of that environment, to defend the rights of actuaries to their professional judgement. The courts eventually supported this perspective.

Description: Josh summarizes key findings distilled from last year’s Pension Section Survey, and reports on a fifteen-item action plan that was ratified by the Pension Section Council in February for near-term implementation.

Description: An article from the Chairman of the Product Development Section Council with a brief discussion of plans for the section for the upcoming year 2009.

Description: discussion of the Product Development Section’s plans for the annual meeting.

Description: In this article, the author discusses the benefits of writing an article that is jointly authored by you and another person. The article discusses different situations where the result can be an article that meets your strategic objectives, and also helps another business professional move ahead.

Description: This article discusses the complexities of such a simple statement as well as highlight certain differences between tax and book treatment of that capitalization.

Description: Update on accounting and capital/RBC issues subsequent to tax reform.

Description: Higlights from the 1977 volume of TSA Reports, including Standard Ordinary mortality ratios, an intercompany study of accidental death benefit experience, and reports from the committees on various lines of insurance.

Description: A review of 'Life Contingencies' by Alistair Neill, to be used as a textbook for the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries examinations.

Description: This newsletter’s nominee for the most spectacular American at last summer’s International Congress is Prof. William S. Jewel1 of the University of California, Berkeley, who, as Mr. Hazelcorn reports in this issue, introduced the Congress subject, Generalized Models of the Insurance Business. Prof. Jewel encouraged actuaries to be receptive of, and tolerant towards, new methods, models, and paradigms.