Description: This meeting session, which occurred at the June 1980 SOA meeting in San Deigo, covered economic assumptions for pension plans. Topics included: 1. How should an Inflation Assumption be chosen? 2. Who should and can be involved in the process? 3. What Economic Assumptions are used for Social Security Canadian and U. S. projections? 4. What is the future of productivity and general wage increases? 5. How are Turnover and Retirement Age Assumptions related to Economic assumptions? 6. Are actuaries using variable or indexed Economic Assumptions? How are they doing it? 7. Should Economic Assumptions vary by plan size? By Benefit design? By valuation method? By investment strategy?, and 8. How should the assumptions be communicated to the plan sponsor? From Record of Society of Actuaries, Vol. 6, No. 3.

Description: In defined-benefit plans, a portability problem arises, especially in an inflationary economy. Final salary plans were designed to cope with inflation. However, transfer of employment during a career can result in long service at a prior employer with outdated final compensation and short service at a current employer with appropriate final compensation. Thus the problem. This presentation discusses possible solutions. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries Vol. 17, No. 3A.

Description: This discussion looks at the conclusions drawn from the Double Indemnity Study in mortality rates, noting a wide variation between companies. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1959, Vol. 11, No. 30 AB.

Description: This discussion looks at steps insurance companies take to regain a greater share of the available savings dollars, developing trends toward a separation of the insurance and investment elements of life insurance contracts, as wells a the feasibility to make endowment and other investment-type contracts more attractive by reduction or redistribution of first year expenses.

Description: This session discussion is about pension plans and choosing critical assumptions. Also addressed are current activities of the pension Section Council. From Record of Society of Actuaries Vol. 16, No. 4A.