Description: This essay explores the role that the emerging defined contribution retirement system may be playing in the growth of wealth inequality in the United States. The current system leaves many Americans with little or no retirement savings. Those with higher accumulation levels appear to invest proportionally more in equities, which may have an exponential effect of balances over long time periods. The author hypothesizes that willingness to take investment risk involves the relationship between the amount an investor has accumulated and what she/he needs in order to cover basic costs of living. This is one reason that investors with greater accumulation levels may be able to earn higher rates of return. The essay concludes by suggesting that the U.S. defined contribution system should include all workers and provide additional fiduciary guidance. Examples reforms, both in the U.S. and other countries, are provided.

Description: A review of a book by a former Commissioner of Social Security, in which he shares his thoughts on what Social Security is, the new law, the financing, the benefits, the types of employment covered, the benefit amounts, the retirement test, and several subsidiary topics.

Description: This session from the 1995 SOA Boston Meeting focuses on recent legislative and regulatory developments in the U.S. including new IRS regulations, the Department of Labor, the SEC, the new CPI table and court decisions. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Vol. 21, No. 4b.

Description: Chapter 2 of the Models For Retirement Policy Analysis. This chapter describes microsimulation analysis and the basic features of microsimulation models. It provides background for the description of each of the microsimulation models reviewed in this report. Strengths and limitations of these models are addressed.

Description: This paper addresses some of the issues arising from the combination of lower birth rates and increasing life expectancy, which have become more pronounced over the past 40 years in Canada and many other countries, too. The paper examines the effect of a gradual increase in retirement ages in order to attempt to maintain the “senior dependency ratio” at or close to its current level.

Description: On May 7th, Barbara Castle, the United Kingdom's Secretary of State for Social Services, announced major changes in the details of the Social Security Act-1973. This article summarizes those changes.

Description: This sessions from the 1995 SOA Vancouver Meeting covers the pension actuary's role in the 'top fifty' process, the PBGC's annual list of those companies with the largest underfunding for guaranteed benefits. It also covers FAS87 and the 10k filing. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Vol. 21, No, 3a.

Description: Chapter 7 develops a model of calculating the cost of managing funds in the Mexican pension system. From Retrospective and Perspective Analysis of the Privatized Mandatory Pension System in Mexico, M-RS02-1.

Description: This 1981 discussion session is about pension reform in Canada from three different perspectives- From the government point of view, from the point of view of private plan sponsors, and from the point of view of financial institutions.

Description: This panel discussion, which occurred at the October 1982 Society of Actuaries Annual meeting in Washington D.C., presented information related to 401k Plans. Topics discussed included: - Historical background - Current developments - Features of 401k plans - What are the issues/problems