Description: Understanding U.S. defined-benefit plan annual funding notice definitions and what they are meant to represent is a key to understanding how “healthy” or “unhealthy” a pension plan is. This article offers a description of several types of funded status measurements and their applications under the rules mandated by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service to fund private employer-sponsored defined-benefit pension plans.

Description: View the complete issue for the August 2014 Reinsurance News newsletter.

Description: Background of the Manhart case on sex discrimination in pension rates, summary of the brief prepared for the case by an SOA task force, and text of a letter submitted to the court by SOA members critical of the brief.

Description: Provides some background on the new regulation, 'The Administrative Measures on Enterprise Annuity Fund', and comments on key issues this poses for corporate pension plans.

Description: A discussion of regulatory considerations for pension plans considering the use of longevity risk hedging contracts in Canada.

Description: In this paper, the author presents the statutory and regulatory rationale for the Internal Revenue Service, ‘IRS,” position on integration. The author discusses the integration requirements under IRC Section 401a which must be met for a private pension plan to receive favorable tax treatment, including the prohibited discrimination requirement. From the 1982 Transactions Vol. 34.

Description: The article outlines a shareholder value framework for pension risk management and applies this framework to pension funding decisions in light of rising PBGC premiums due to 2013’s BBA legislation. The article finds that the new legislation significantly incentivizes plan sponsors to increase pension funding. Moreover, many tax-paying pension plan sponsors can increase shareholder value by increasing pension plan contributions.