Description: This article highlights how Pension Section actuaries are in the forefront of the debate on pension plan funding reform. Over the past year, the SOA Pension Section has been at the forefront of efforts to rethink how employer-sponsored pension plans are funded. Our initiative began in the fall of 2004 with a call for papers, asking members of the consulting, plan sponsor and academic communities to develop proposals that innovatively address the future of pension plan funding—with the goal of creating a better system. In order to provide a forum to discuss the resulting papers and debate various proposals for reform, a symposium was organized for pension experts and stakeholders to meet face-to-face. The symposium, officially titled 'The Future of Pension Plan Funding and Disclosure,' was held in Washington, D.C., on July 14-15, 2005. From Pension Section News, April 2006, No. 61.

Description: This article provides an overview of the laws and regulations governing pension funding and suggests analysis which will enable the plan sponsor to capitalize on contribution options and coordinate long and short term funding strategies.

Description: This article discusses plans and processes for adequate funding for pension plans.

Description: This paper recommends four criteria for measuring the adequacy of proposed funding policies.

Description: Introduction of a symposium of papers that arose out of the discussions of the Committee on Retirement Systems Practice Education regarding the adequacy of defined benefit pension plan funding.

Description: The article discusses the Texas Pension Review Board's Guidelines for Actuarial Soundness applicable to Texas state public retirement systems (including the system's amortization period), and how these guidelines are consistent with and complementary to both the current GASB 27 ARC disclosure, and the imminent GASB 67 & 68 disclosures. The GASB requirements will change from a de facto funding standard to strictly disclosure requirements, with a focus on plans whose funding trajectory is the poorest.

Description: This is a summary of the employer costs for pension plans published by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) as of December 2013.

Description: This article discusses how much should defined-benefit pension plan assets be and should actuaries decide the answer to this question?