Description: This Fast Facts document summarizes the Phase 2 Report of the Communicating Defined Benefit Risk project.

Description: The Society of Actuaries Retirement Section is pleased to make available material that addresses the challenges in communicating pension risk to stakeholders.

Description: The Society of Actuaries is pleased to make available a research report that investigates defined benefit retirement plan de-risking activities for U.S.-based companies and the relative impact of various implemented strategies.

Description: Technology is transforming the retirement space and more changes are expected in the future. Join a panel of experts to discuss what are the opportunities, trends and challenges associated with new technologies in the retirement landscape and how it is expected to impact consumers, if we can enable their successful integration.

Description: The SOA is pleased to make available a report updating the 2012 risk assessment performed by Porteous et al. The report also provided an economic capital analysis for a stylized US plan with the same member profile and the USS provisions modified to reflect a typical US DB plan.

Description: This study explores whether public pension plans have contributed enough to reduce unfunded liabilities, absent other influences such as investment returns.

Description: The standard for measuring retirement income adequacy has been the final earnings replacement rate (usually targeted at 70%). But - does it work?

Description: Study of the impact of IRS proposed mortality tables on private sector pension plan costs, including liabilities, contributions and PBGC premiums.

Description: This report includes information on variations in wind-up funding levels and examines differences in required PfADs attributable to differences in plan design.

Description: Comments on Robert North’s paper, a real case study of disclosing MVL in a public employee retirement system.

Description: Read the September 2016 issue of Pension Section News published by the The Pension Section. Newsletters provide practical information for the working actuary, articles on trends that impact sections and news about section activities.

Description: Hear from the chairperson on themes in the September 2016 issue of Pension Section News published by the The Pension Section.

Description: In this article, the author discusses the trend towards an integrated approach to defined benefit plan funding and investments that is taking place in England.

Description: This presentation is an open forum, session 11OF, from the 2004 Spring Meeting of the Society of Actuaries, held May 19-21 in Anaheim, CA. The panelists note that defined benefit [DB] pension actuaries are finding themselves working in new and expanded roles in the new millennium, and discuss the answers to challenging questions raised by working in this environment, such as what additional training is recommended, and what the unique challenges and rewards are. The panelists look at the future with respect to the DB actuary, with respect to less traditional roles in that area as well as opportunities in the area of defined contribution plans. Discussion from participants is included. From the Record of Society of Actuaries, Volume 30, No. 1.

Description: 2004 SOA Spring Meeting, Anaheim, CA. This session presented expert views on emerging issues that have technical and practical ramifications for plan sponsors, participants and/or advisers. It offered attendees an opportunity to gain a better understanding of the current retirement system's regulatory environment and how it has changed.

Description: The purpose of this paper is to study mortality-based securities, such as mortality bonds and swaps, and to price the proposed mortality securities. The focus is on individual annuity data, although some of the modeling techniques could be applied to other lines of annuity or life insurance.

Description: A discussion of where insurance companies and their products fit in the retirement asset market and trends over the past few decades. Some historical data on the insurance companies' share of retirement assets is included.

Description: 1993 SOA Spring Meeting, San Diego. This session discussed cash-balance pension plans, design variations, rate of interest credit, IRC section 417e problems, and transition from traditional defined-benefit plans.

Description: This presentaion provides a comparison of the pension guarantees provided by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation 'PBGC' in the United States and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Fund 'PBGF' in Ontario, Canada. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries Vol. 18, No. 4B.

Description: This session discussion was a primer on hybird pension plans, in particular cash balance plans and age weighted profit sharing plans. Included nondiscrimination issues, IRS issues and communication about the plans to participants.

Description: The two basic considerations in a pension plan valuation are the choice of actuarial cost methods and actuarial assumptions. This paper deals with the assumptions. The concern in this regard is what actuaries are doing and why. There are explicit criteria why particular assumptions are chosen, and these have often been discussed in the pension literature. However, there also are implicit criteria, which, while seldom discussed in the literature, can dominate the valuation. The goal of this paper is to quantify some of these criteria, and thereby provide a basis for further discussion and research.

Description: This session from the 1984 SOA New York City Meeting covers selecting a pension fund investment manager, when it may be appropriate to use a consultant in the process, what to look for in a consultant and the process of selecting the investment manager. Record of the Society of Actuaries Vol. 10, No. 3

Description: This paper discusses the difficulty in measuring inflation and indicates the wide range of options available to corporate sponsors to lessen the impact of inflation on pensioners. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1982, Vol. 34.

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

Description: Book review of a book on pensions written by Ralph Nader and Kate Blackwell. Review is relatively balanced, yet clearly points out the shortfalls of the analysis put together by Mr. Nader and Ms. Blackwell.

Description: This paper surveys the actuarial techniques connected with salary scale mathematics for the valuation of defined benefit pension plans. Followed by several discussion papers submitted

Description: This is a panel discussion about how frequently actuarial valuations should be made of trusteed pension plans and deposit administration plans. Also discussed is what government regulations require as to reports on such plans. From Transaction of Society of Actuaries 1959, Vol. 11, No. 29 AB.