Description: This dissertation is about methods for assessing mortality risk in regard to insurance and annuity transactions. Although the basic methods and formulas are general, most of the applications made here deal with life annuity transactions, with particular emphasis on pension situations.

Description: In an increasing population the number of persons falls off from age to age more rapidly than does the stationary population of the life table. This can introduce a systematic bias into life table calculations. The first part of the paper describes an iterative procedure to correct for the bias, extends the method to multiple decrement and associated single decrement life tables, and demonstrates the magnitude of the bias involved. The second part of the paper summarizes the results of applying iterative life table techniques to 165 populations which encompass over a century's experience and include countries from all parts of the world. Followed by discussions submitted by several people

Description: This paper focuses on the equity unit annuity popularly termed the variable annuity. Followed by several discussion papers submitted

Description: Development of a formula for the continuous annuity ax:n| in terms of the Makeham parameters A, B, and c, and the force of interest. Followed by several discussion papers submitted

Description: This paper consists of two parts. The first concerns the financing of public systems, the second is a challenging introduction to variances encountered in life insurance and life annuity theory. The first part emerges from work by some actuarial students and faculty at the University of Michigan during the past five years. The second part was stimulated by some developments in the preparation of the second edition of Actuarial Mathematics.

Description: This is a discussion of the title paper by Robert M. Duncan which outlines the use of a contributory money purchase plan with death benefits, and investments in equities, to fund pensions. The approach is critiqued.

Description: This is a discussion of the paper, Actuarial Note: Reserves by Different Mortality Tables by Harry Gershenson. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1951, Vol. 3, No. 7.

Description: These notes are a follow-up to the paper 'Introduction to the Dynamics of Pension Funding' by the same authors and published in Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1976, Vol. 28. The purpose of that paper was to provide an introduction to mathematical principles applicable to pension funding under dynamic conditions of population growth, inflation, and automatic adjustment of benefits. The first note discusses a general contribution formula and a number of special cases and modifications. The second note concerns aggregate cost funding when the actuary uses assumptions about cost factors which differ consistently from cost experience. The final note concerns the variation of the annuity unit under a variable annuity program patterned after the plan employed by the College Retirement Equities Fund [CREF]. From Actuarial Research Clearing House 1981, Vol. 1.

Description: This is a discussion of the paper, Actuarial Note: The Equation of Equilibrium by Donald C. Baillie. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1951, Vol. 3, No. 7.

Description: This is the discussion of the paper by J. Alan Lauer that develops the apportionate basis for the immediate payment of claims as an alternative to continuous functions. A new function, the apportionable annuity due, is defined and derived and formulas for net premiums and terminal reserves on the apportionable basis are developed. Then an investigation is made of the relationship of net premiums and terminal reserves on the apportionable basis to the corresponding functions on the continuous functions basis.