Description: Introduction to the field of the Personal Actuary. The session presented what a personal actuary does that is different from traditional consulting what skills actuaries presently have that are relevant what skills need to be enhanced potential clients of a personal actuary and how an aspiring personal actuary can secure a client base and a potential financial model for a practicing personal actuary. A panel of practicing personal actuaries share case studies from their work.

Description: Full version of Pension Section News, June 2001, Issue No. 46.

Description: Full version of Smaller Consulting Firm Section, January 2003, Issue No. 1.

Description: This discussion from the 1983 SOA Vancouver Meeting looks at recent developments in pensions for the United States including TEFRA and Section 415 limits on defined benefit and defined contribution plans, the taxation of social security benefits, and FASB views on pension assets and liabilities. From Record of Society of Actuaries, Vol. 9, No. 3.

Description: A pension plan uses Actuarial Equivalence to determine a 'fair' adjustment to pension benefits for form and timing of payment. The definition of Actuarial Equivalence is set in the Plan Document which may not have been reviewed for decades. With a wave of recent pension litigation in the U.S., plan sponsors, attorneys and actuaries now pay more attention to how pension plans define Actuarial Equivalence. How does a change in mortality table or interest rate affect the ultimate benefit? What are the requirements under ERISA and pertinent regulations? Are there court cases that have examined this question before? What are the issues behind the recent lawsuits and what can a plan sponsor do now to reduce their legal exposure? What alternative strategies are available for changing or not changing the definition in the plan document?

Description: The presenters will provide an update on recent developments impacting U.S. retirement plans, such as regulatory guidance, new legislative proposals, recent court cases and recent trends. Experienced pension actuaries will share their perspectives on these issues and discuss how plan sponsors are being impacted.

Description: This article notes that actuaries can play a crucial role in assisting the couple, the attorney's and the human resources professional in alleviating headaches spawned by QDROs and provides simple steps to follow to minimize complexity, thereby saving legal and consulting fees for the divorcing couple and easing their stress.

Description: Smaller Consulting Firm Section—Goals by Mitchell I. Serota from Smaller Consulting Firm Section, January 2003, Issue No. 1.

Description: Congress once again turns to defined benefit pension plans as a misguided source for financing programs that have nothing to do with retirement.