Description: This presentation is an open forum, session 11OF, from the 2004 Spring Meeting of the Society of Actuaries, held May 19-21 in Anaheim, CA. The panelists note that defined benefit [DB] pension actuaries are finding themselves working in new and expanded roles in the new millennium, and discuss the answers to challenging questions raised by working in this environment, such as what additional training is recommended, and what the unique challenges and rewards are. The panelists look at the future with respect to the DB actuary, with respect to less traditional roles in that area as well as opportunities in the area of defined contribution plans. Discussion from participants is included. From the Record of Society of Actuaries, Volume 30, No. 1.

Description: In this article the author responds the current defined benefit pension plan concepts that are being challenged and presents his proposal for revised plan design, funding and investment concepts. From Pension Section News, March 2004, Issue No. 54.

Description: This session from the 2003 SOA Spring Meeting discusses current economic conditions and their implications on the funding, plan design and administration of pension plans. It also discusses the role of the FSA and EA in a small consulting firm and the future of consulting actuaries. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Volume 29, No. 2, Session 56pd.

Description: The Employee Retiree Income Security Act, or ERISA, establishes an important statutory role for pension actuaries in the United States. As part of its statutory goal to protect the retirement security of America’s workers, ERISA requires tax-qualified defined benefit plans to obtain an actuarial valuation of plan reserves each year. When valuing the plan’s reserves, the actuary is required by ERISA to act on behalf of plan participants. Thus, the plan actuary fulfills an important role in maintaining the plan’s ability to meet its on-going obligations to the plan participants and their beneficiaries. From Pension Section News, April 2006, Issue No. 61.

Description: This article is about the Society of Actuaries' Education and Examination Research Paper Committee awarding 30 Fellowship credits to Krzysztof M. Ostaszewski, Ph.D., ASA, for his paper, 'Macroeconomic Aspects of Private Retirement Programs.' This is the twelfth such paper approved for Fellowship credit under the SOA’s Future Education Methods program. The paper analyzes possible macroeconomic factors contributing to the decline in the use of defined benefit plans and proposes an alternative hypothesis for the cause of the decline.

Description: This article discusses pension plans in North America as compared to pension plans in Japan from the perspective of the author, who has lived in both places, currently residing in Japan. From Pension Section News, January 2006, No. 60.

Description: The purpose of this paper is to sketch the mathematical functions which are needed in valuing the benefits of a self-insured plan, and to study certain problems that arise in connection with the valuation of these plans. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1950, Vol. 2, No. 2.

Description: This is a discussion of the paper, Actuarial Note: The Valuation of Self-Insured Retirement Plans by Joseph C. Noback. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1950, Vol. 2, No. 4.

Description: This discussion examines miscellaneous topics. Topics include actuarial training, final salary pension plans and hospitalization and surgical insurance. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1960, Vol. 12, No. 34.