Description: This paper examines the history and current problems of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation PBGC. From The Future of Pension Plan Funding and Disclosure Monograph, M-RS05-1.

Description: This paper examines the funding expectations of the three primary stakeholders in the pension system: plan sponsors, taxpayers, and workers. From The Future of Pension Plan Funding and Disclosure Monograph, M-RS05-1.

Description: This paper takes the position that the U.K. actuarial profession has still not come to a single view on financial economics, and the major divisions that remain continue to hamstring its policy development. From Current Pension Actuarial Practice in Light of Financial Economics Symposium, M-RS04-1.

Description: This paper explores the range of contribution policies allowable under various sets of rules, and then proposes that plan sponsors be allowed to contribute the normal cost as a deductible contribution each year. From The Future of Pension Plan Funding and Disclosure Monograph, M-RS05-1.

Description: Exploration of sources of volatility in retiree health valuations, noting how volatility arises and might be mitigated, with discussion of valuation parameters more problematic for retiree health benefits than for pensions. Three significant influences on retiree health valuation volatility are covered-- changes in benefit level, fluctuations in cost level, and alterations in eligibility for, or duration of, benefit – and attention focused on the last two. Specific conclusions result in recommendations, which are supported by practical examples contrasting volatile measurement results with those likely from the recommended practices. Theoretical discussion includes health claim variation, health trend usage, financial economics, option pricing, discount rates, and deterministic vs. stochastic modeling.

Description: This paper examines concepts from both financial economic and actuarial science as applied to defined benefit schemes using a simple discounted cash-flow framework as a reference point. From Current Pension Actuarial Practice in Light of Financial Economics Symposium, M-RS04-1.

Description: A Towers Perrin proposal for pension funding reform discussed at the Future of Pension Plan Funding and Disclosure Symposium, held July 14-15, 2005, Washington, DC.

Description: This paper asserts that funding is the natural result of managing liability, and, from there, examines some of the funding liabilities of pension plans. From The Future of Pension Plan Funding and Disclosure Monograph, M-RS05-1.

Description: In this paper, we derive three important longevity Greeks on the basis of an extended version of the Lee-Carter model that incorporates stochastic volatility.

Description: This paper analyzes the likely increase in volatility for a representative plan and then considers the implications of adopting a hedged portfolio as a means of reducing the increased volatility. It then analyzes the effects of adopting a stochastic funding method which represents a simple extension of traditional expected value funding methods. From The Future of Pension Plan Funding and Disclosure Monograph, M-RS05-1.