Description: This article is a synopsis of a 2017 Society of Actuaries annual meeting session of the same title.

Description: This presentation from Session 109 of the SOA May 2004 Anaheim Spring Meeting discusses how to improve the manner in which the funding of a defined benefit pension plan reacts under adverse economic conditions using asset-liability projections. Investigating the utility of hedge funds and other investment products in the risk management of pension plans is also discussed. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Volume 30, No. 1.

Description: This paper suggests a number of legislative changes, educational efforts, and changes in annuity products and asset allocation software that could assist workers and retirees to better prepare for and respond to declining mortality rates and future increases in income needs. From Retirement Needs Framework, M-RS00-1.

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 article discusses the risk-sharing arrangements provided by a number of different types of hybrid pensions, focusing on hybrid designs in the United States, Canada and the Netherlands, with particular emphasis on the New Brunswick (Canada) shared risk plan.

Description: This presentation from Session 56 of the SOA June 2005 New Orleans Health/Pension Spring Meeting discusses the risks faced by sponsors of defined benefit pension plans and how actuaries can help these plan sponsors adopt plan design strategies to manage these risks. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Vol. 31, No. 2.

Description: The author discusses and provides an example of how some companies’ enterprise risk management (ERM) programs are designed and implemented in ways that can unwittingly weaken the organization.

Description: The purpose of this paper is to explore a methodology for choosing among techniques for managing contribution volatility in defined- benefit pension plans. A frequently used – and as often criticized – method for managing contribution volatility is to base actuarial cost on smoothed assets. Our goal in this paper is to develop a methodology for measuring and evaluating the quantitative impact of competing asset smoothing policies. We proceed by investigating a series of basic pension metrics, evaluating the characteristics of each using a simulated pension plan. We then use normalized and weighted combinations of these metrics to determine an optimal smoothing policy.

Description: This paper charts the economic status of women moving from marriage to widowhood, and examines the changes in income and income sources that actually occur as women are widowed. The paper focuses, in particular, in the actual and potential role of pensions in preserving the economic status of widow. From Retirement Needs Framework, M-RS00-1.

Description: Discusses the history of conventional pension plans, the conventional wisdom about investing plan assets, and the new wisdom about matching investments [assets] with expected pension-plan liabilities. From the 1988 Record of Society of Actuaries, Vol. 14, No. 4A.