Description: This section contains book reviews and summaries of recently published works on subjects including demography, savings in the U.S., life company state examinations, private pensions, Industrial insurance, medical care, and union welfare plans.

Description: This is a discussion of the paper, Measure of Actuarial Soundness in a Pension Plan of the Railroad Retirement Type by Abraham M. Niessen. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1954, Vol. 6, No. 16.

Description: This general session discussion looks at: A. Methods available to decide the percentage of the premium that should be used for life insurance, weekly indemnity benefits, hospitalization and surgical benefits. B. Formulas devised for computing contingency reserves for possible losses on mortgage loans and real estate. C. Extent to which companies are using participating forms for the following coverages: 1. Annuities in the benefit stages and/or supplementary contracts involving life contingencies after expiry of the term certain period 2. Family income and other decreasing term rider benefits 3. Extended term insurance D. Methods developed for pricing annuities and settlement options derived from an annuity table without provision for mortality improvement

Description: This paper will not attempt to cover the details of every possible approximate method, but will endeavor to illustrate the use of principles andgeneral methods. It is hoped that the application of these principles and methods will help develop particular solutions to many of the varied valuation problems of today. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1955, Vol. 7, No. 19.

Description: This discussion looks at the extent smaller companies have adopted the practice of financing new agents and general agents as well as to what extent smaller companies make studies by individual agencies withing policy types, persistency rates, average size of policy, expense rates, and mortality rates. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1959, Vol. 11, No. 29 AB.