Description: This research report analyzes approaches for the required discount rate to determine adequate funding for DB pension plans.

Description: In order for actuaries to play a valuable role in the realm of enterprise risk management ERM, they must provide value-added advice and quantitative analyses. In this paper, the authors use stochastic simulation technology to present a risk metric for defined benefit pension plans that provides improved measures of the plan’s solvency and provides a tool for pension plan managers to determine the value of risk mitigation activities.

Description: An interview with actuary Lee Gold reveals preliminary results of a recent SOA research project which surveyed employees on what retirement plan features they prefer.

Description: The presenters in this session will discuss the simultaneous use of DB and DC plans. With the continued growth of DC assets and the freezing of DB plans, it is increasingly common to see DB participants with a DC plan that is more than just supplemental. Because of this, it is important that retirement professionals see DB and DC plans as not just competitors for contributions, but as partners. The presenters will discuss how that partnership can work and how the presence of a DB plan can influence the design of DC solutions such as target date funds.

Description: This paper demonstrates how, under the projected benefit cost methods whereby the gains are reflected in the normal cost rate, gains determined at a given valuation date are amortized over the future working lifetime of the active employees included in the valuation as of that date.

Description: Chapter 2 compares regular, back, and self-directed DROPs, and examines the features of each. From Design and Actuarial Aspects of Deferred Retirement Option Programs, M-RS03-2.

Description: 2004 SOA Spring Meeting, Anaheim, CA. This session presented expert views on emerging issues that have technical and practical ramifications for plan sponsors, participants and/or advisers. It offered attendees an opportunity to gain a better understanding of the current retirement system's regulatory environment and how it has changed.

Description: This paper advocates asset/liability management for pension plans. It identifies the economic factors that influence the economic value of liabilities and discusses the typical asset portfolio that results.

Description: Presenters examine the difficulty in determining, under current regulations, the maximum benefits payable from defined-benefit pension plans. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Vol. 25, No. 2.

Description: The pension and longevity risk transfer market is growing rapidly, with British-pioneered pension and longevity de-risking emerging outside of the UK and US, with over $270bn in transactions completed globally since 2007. Emerging markets include the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, France and Australia. This article describes the solutions available to plan sponsors who are looking to secure member benefits and achieve a lower risk future, and provides real-world examples of companies who have used innovative solutions to meet their unique needs.