Description: This article provides a basic introduction to the taxation of qualified annuities held in qualified retirement plans and IRAs. The article has been updated for the SECURE Act and the SECURE 2.0 Act. The article describes the basic types of employer-based plans, provides of overview of the taxation of contributions and benefits when annuities are held in connection with plans and IRAs, explains the required minimum distribution rules, and offers a brief introduction to recent legislation impacting qualified annuities.

Description: The SOA conducted a study of uninsured pension plan mortality in response to The Retirement Protection Act of 1994 and to ensure that the Treasury Department would have current and thorough information available when it considers updating the mandatory mortality table to be used when when calculating Current Liabilities for pension plans. The purpose of this report is to provide actuaries with all of the significant findings of the study along with a full explanation of when and how these should be used in reviewing or setting mortality rates for specific plans.

Description: This article on pensions and tax expenditures discusses the problems in the development of the numbers provided by the Office of Management and Budget. Tax reform proposals that quantify increases in tax revenue that would result from elimination of tax advantages of qualified pension plans are flawed in the author's opinion.