Description: Rapid and steady inflation has eroded the value of pensions for retired persons. Coping with the effects of inflation has been a major problem for retirement systems today. This 1981 discussion session focuses on inflation issues and retirement plans in the United States and Canada.

Description: This is a report of the Society of Actuaries Committee on Pensions that was initially undertaken as an effort to assist the Committee on Actuarial Principles and Practices in Connection with Pension Plans of the American Academy of Actuaries with respect to recommendations it had been preparing. This report was prepared in an effort to promote better understanding of pension terminology. The Committee anticipates that additional work will be needed to coordinate this effort with regulatory efforts prompted by the pension reform act. It is hoped that a further list of terms reflecting specific words used in ERISA can be prepared, with pertinent definitions along with references to clarifying expressions suggested by the Committee where appropriate. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1976, Vol. 28.