Description: A response to American Legislative Exchange Council's report "Unaccountable and Unaffordable" in light of applicable Actuarial Standards of Practice.

Description: In February 2008, the American Academy of Actuaries and and the Society of Actuaries Pension Section Council co-sponsored a lively roundtable discussion of the role of funding, disclosure and investment for public pension plans. This article presents the author’s observations and interpretations of the roundtable discussion.

Description: The Actuary Vol. 22, No. 1. This article discusses the impact of a change in procedure in the financing of the US Military Retirement System. The change requires amortizing the past service liability. The impact will depend upon whether the amortization is achieved by increasing current taxes and decreasing the current deficit, or by merely increasing the national debt and leaving the current deficit unchanged. The author asserts that the new financing method will not weaken the financial condition of the military retirement system, and that it has the potential to strengthen its financial condition if the funding of the past service liability is handled appropriately.

Description: In recent months, many significant developments in Canada have affected employee benefits, particularly pensions. Other Canadian issues discussed in this article are unemployment insurance and taxation of pensions.

Description: This article discusses the U.S. military retirement system, an unfunded non-contributory defined-benefit plan, and the legislative proposal that would convert the system to an entry-age-normal funding method.

Description: This editorial highlights the current debates regarding public sector plans, the activities of the Pension Section Council to support the debate, and encourages actuaries to participate in the resolution for an optimal outcome. From the Pension Section News, September 2008, Issue No. 68.

Description: The author presents an overview of the Conference and highlights the controversy and discussion about the appropriate ways to measure assets and Liabilities for public sector pension plans. From the Pension Section News, September 2008, Issue No. 68.

Description: Retirement plan trustees are tasked with retirement plan administration. Trustees are responsible for hiring service providers and monitoring the quality of their work. This article discusses actuarial audits as a due diligence tool for public plan trustees.

Description: Excellent big picture view for planning a social insurance system with pay-as-you-go, required self-funded, and voluntary plans.

Description: This is the discussion to the paper, The Actuarial Implications of the 1951 Railroad Retirement Amendments by Joseph Musher. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1952, Vol. 4, No. 10.