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: Updated longitudinal study of metrics for measuring whether US corporate pension plan contributions paid down unfunded liabilities or met regulatory benchmarks.

Description: Updated metrics for measuring financial stress among multiemployer pension plans in the United States.

Description: Appendix A presents, in table form, basic DROP design features in 24 different public-sector locations. From Design and Actuarial Aspects of Deferred Retirement Option Programs, M-RS03-2.

Description: The tables were developed from data collected for 2010–2014. The central year of the data is 2012, hence the name. These tables are intended to be adjusted with a mortality improvement scale. The Pri-2012 Mortality Tables update the RP-2006 Mortality Tables , which were developed from data collected for years 2004–2008.

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

Description: This is a study of Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) mortality experience. The study consists of data furnished by the PBGC for the time period of September 30, 2009 through September 30, 2014. All of the data come from single-employer pension plans taken over by the PBGC in a distress termination. This is the SOA’s first study of PBGC experience and provides another comparison point of retirement plans mortality experience for work performed by pension actuaries.

Description: Canadian employers who sponsor retirement plans have mostly adopted arrangements that qualify for deferral of taxes. It is no longer clear that this is the best choice. Low interest rates and the emergence of Tax-Free Savings Accounts mean that there could be better alternatives for future generations of employees. This research paper re-examines the effectiveness of tax deferral and other fundamental choices.

Description: Overview of the prevalence of employer withdrawals from multiemployer pension plans in the United States and their impact on the multiemployer pension plan system.

Description: The purpose of these papers is to provide a background study that actuaries can use when discussing proposed DROP plans with their clients. From Design and Actuarial Aspects of Deferred Retirement Option Programs, M-RS03-2.