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 is a review of the book “Pension Mathematics with Numerical Illustrations,” by Howard E. Winklevoss. The stated objective of this book is to analyze pension costs in detail, including the manner in which such costs vary under different actuarial assumptions, funding methods, and benefit provisions. The reviewers conclude the book is “probably most useful as a basic reference to those interested in pension cost relationships, examined from a theoretical and mathematical viewpoint.”

Description: This is an article that highlights an alternative method for determining the impact of a change in interest rates on the factor which converts a life annuity to a 100% joint and survivor annuity. It also discusses the factors for early retirement and deferred retirement.

Description: This article describes the Joint and Survivor Factor. In defined benefit plans, ERISA requires that the normal form of the pension must be on a qualified joint and survivor basis. If the plan defines the pension in terms of a lifetime pension to the participant only, the lifetime pension must be multiplied by the joint and survivor factor. This article shows what happens to the factor as the interest rate increases.

Description: The editorial provides an overview of articles in this issue that explore and illustrate solutions to current retirement challenges.

Description: Summary of the non-routine business transacted at meetings of the Executive Committee of the Society of Actuaries on September 18, 1979 and the Board of Governors on October 18-19, 1979