Description: This 1991 panel discussion: 1. Compares and contrasts standards set by various U.S and Canadian agencies- FASB, CICA, GASB, and IRS- for calculations under the Projected Unit Credit Cost Method, 2. Discusses certain types of retirement and ancillary benefits that are not easily handled under the Projected Unit Credit Cost Method, and 3. Provides insight into the nuances of using the Projected Unit Credit Cost Method for pension expense and funding purposes. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries Vol. 17, No. 3B.

Description: This panel discussion is from the 1991 Meeting of the Society of Actuaries, held June 3-5 in Colorado Springs. The panelists discuss the considerations and factors in selecting an interest rate assumption for a pension plan, looking at the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, ‘ERISA,’ the Financial Accounting Standards Board, ‘FASB,’ current liability, the effect of Internal Revenue Service, ‘IRS’ audit guidelines and audit programs, and the effect of other assumptions. Discussion from participants is included. From the Record of Society of Actuaries Vol. 17, No. 3A.

Description: This presentation is an open forum from the 1991 Annual Meeting of the Society of Actuaries, held October 20-23 in Toronto. The speakers, members of the Pension Committee of the Actuarial Standards Board [ASB], present an update on the ASB’s exposure drafts of actuarial standards of practice intended to provide detailed guidance on setting economic assumptions for pension plans. The session is concerned with selecting actuarial assumptions, specifically economic assumptions, for measuring pension obligations. The speakers note that in addition to providing guidance to actuaries, the standards are designed to help users of our work product understand what actuaries consider in determining their assumptions. Discussion from participants is included. From the Record of Society of Actuaries, Volume 17, No. 4B.

Description: The presenters will provide an update on discount rates developed from the expected return on assets used in going concern pension funding. They will include recent research on discount rates being used for U.S. public sector plans, U.S. Multiple Employer Pension Plans, and Ontario and British Columbia plans. A discussion of the emerging regulatory framework in Canada and the U.S. and changes to ASOP 4 and 27 will also be covered. Components of discount rates such as expenses and margins (PfADs) will also be covered.

Description: Panelists develop a framework for analyzing the diverse family of deferred recognition methods for assets under a pension plan. Using this framework, attendees learn how to assess the reasonableness of a method from both a client and a regulatory perspective – that qualify under IR Code Section 412[c][2][A] – including a case study of the evolution of smoothing methods used by a particular group of plan sponsors. From the 2002 Record of Society of Actuaries, Volume 28, No. 2. Session 76PD of the San Francisco Spring Meeting.

Description: This panel discussion, which occurred at the May 1982 Society of Actuaries meeting in Colorado Springs, presented a discussion on retirement age issues, trends, and assumptions related to pension plans. Also a discussion of factors that affect early retirement elections. Includes discussion of: I. Trends in experience, especially as they may be influenced by: a. Changes in Social Security b. Government regulation, such as Age Discrimination in Employment Act c. Early retirement incentives, such as bonuses or subsidized early retirement factors and d. Cost-of-living supplements to retirees. 2. Plan design for early and postponed retirement. 3. Effects of deferred retirement on actuarial costs. 4. Trends in actuarial assumptions Detailed historical data on UAW, teachers, and Bell company employees' retirement trends is presented.

Description: This panel discussion session focuses on economic assumptions for pension plans including investment return salary scale the spread between investment return and salary scale and the effects of inflation and the economy on other assumptions. From Record of Society of Actuaries 1981, Vol. 7, No. 1.

Description: 1994 SOA Meeting, San Antonio. This session covered the SEC letter on FAS 87, discount rates analyzing the current yield curve, matching bond portfolios to benefit payments, selection of salary scale, selection of return on assets, update on ASB proposed standards, and the relationship, if any, of funding assumptions to accounting assumptions.

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: The purpose of this paper is to provide an introduction to mathematical principles applicable to pension funding under dynamic conditions of population growth, inflation, and automatic adjustment of benefits. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1976, Vol. 28.