Description: The presenters will provide an update on discount rates developed from the expected return on assets used in going concern pension funding. They will include recent research on discount rates being used for U.S. public sector plans, U.S. Multiple Employer Pension Plans, and Ontario and British Columbia plans. A discussion of the emerging regulatory framework in Canada and the U.S. and changes to ASOP 4 and 27 will also be covered. Components of discount rates such as expenses and margins (PfADs) will also be covered.

Description: This 1991 panel discussion: 1. Compares and contrasts standards set by various U.S and Canadian agencies- FASB, CICA, GASB, and IRS- for calculations under the Projected Unit Credit Cost Method, 2. Discusses certain types of retirement and ancillary benefits that are not easily handled under the Projected Unit Credit Cost Method, and 3. Provides insight into the nuances of using the Projected Unit Credit Cost Method for pension expense and funding purposes. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries Vol. 17, No. 3B.

Description: This 1981 discussion session focuses on funding policy for pension Plans in the United States and Canada from the plan sponsor's viewpoint. Topics include: 1.Alternative uses of cash, 2. Selection of the actuarial cost method, 3. Selection of actuarial assumptions, 4. External constraints such as regulatory constraints, labor agreements, accounting constraints and government contract reimbursement, 5. Use of projections and immunization theory, and 6. The effect of investment strategy on funding policy.

Description: The purpose of this paper is to provide an introduction to mathematical principles applicable to pension funding under dynamic conditions of population growth, inflation, and automatic adjustment of benefits. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1976, Vol. 28.

Description: This panel discussion session reported on the status and content of the Actuarial Standards Board standard dealing with the selection of assumptions. The discussion covers what the effects would be on practitioners.

Description: 1994 SOA Meeting, San Antonio. This session covered the SEC letter on FAS 87, discount rates analyzing the current yield curve, matching bond portfolios to benefit payments, selection of salary scale, selection of return on assets, update on ASB proposed standards, and the relationship, if any, of funding assumptions to accounting assumptions.

Description: This panel discussion examines the valuation problems, funding methods, valuing ancillary benefits, and fluctuations in experience of small pension plans.

Description: This 1978 session focused on valuation techniques for pension plans. Topics covered: 1. Asset Valuation Methods 2. Use of projections and forecasts 3. Has application of forecasts allowed the actuary to determine short range best estimate of future costs different from traditional methods? 4. Treatment of salary scales, turnover assumptions, retirement decrements