Description: An excerpt from the 2003 Annual report of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Hospital Insurance and Federal Supplementary Medical Trust Funds which describes the basic methodology and assumptions used for the intermediate assumptions.

Description: This article reviews the new standard of practice, ASOP 6, and its impact on the actuarial assumptions that actuaries use for valuations of retiree group medical and life benefits.

Description: An excerpt from the 2003 Annual report of the Board of Trustees of the federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance Trust Funds which describes the assumptions and methods underlying the actuarial estimates.

Description: An excerpt from the 2003 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Hospital Insurance and Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Funds which describes the basic methodology and assumptions used in the estimates for Medicare Part B under the intermediate assumptions.

Description: The impact of bond default risk on retirement benefit obligations describes how the probability default on a bond is similar to the probability of death for an annuitant. Bonds are used to cash flow match retirement obligations cash flows to funding from bond. Just as the probability of non-payment happens on the liability side, we can do the same with selected bonds. The end result may be an adjustment to the discount rates used.

Description: This article summarizes the approach taken by the Canadian Institute of Actuaries to develop mortality tables and mortality improvement scales for use in Canadian pension plans based on Canadian population data. It also summarizes the additional factors pension actuaries have to consider in using the new tables and scales.

Description: A summary from the Trustees report: SMI Trust Fund: Estimates under Alternative II Assumption for Aged and Disabled Excluding End-Stage Renal Disease Enrollees

Description: Defined contribution plans need to do more than simply offer participants a menu of investment choices--the average worker is not building a secure retirement. Because both employers and employees face constraints, the solution is not as straightforward as delaying retirement or boosting contributions. Features like automatic enrollment can help somewhat, but are not enough. Truly innovative solutions are needed. There are numerous different proposals for improved retirement plans, both in the US and internationally. Individual proposals often contain an evaluation section dealing with benefits and risks, but what is lacking is a full quantitative evaluation framework that can be uniformly applied to a number of different proposals. This essay lays the groundwork for a potential research project to build such a quantitative assessment framework.

Description: ASOP No. 6 Exposure Draft Provisions Relating to Community Rated HMO Contracts by J. Richard Hogue from Pension Section News, February 2002, Issue No. 48.

Description: The authors present the myriad of issues affecting an individuals retirement decision and highlight studies from Mercer and AARP. They find that Americans are increasingly creating their own personalized phased retirement programs in this evolving area of human resources management.