Description: The purpose of this paper is to provide an introduction to mathematical principles applicable to pension funding under dynamic conditions of population growth, inflation, and automatic adjustment of benefits. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1976, Vol. 28.

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

Description: The adoption of FAS 158 forces sponsors of post-employment health benefit plans to consider how to manage the volatility that changes in medical care inflation create in the other postemployment benefits (OPEB) liability. By choosing carefully how the nominal discount rate used for the liability is decomposed into real rates and inflation, I illustrate that the true exposure to an OPEB plan is to the spread of medical care inflation above (or below) the overall inflation rate. The implication is that an effective immunization strategy exists that can eliminate most of the volatility in the OPEB account.

Description: Article focuses on a number of strategies that can be used to improve results in a DC plan. It is based on information from several outside sources. It encourages people with DB backgrounds to learn more about DC issues.

Description: Living beyond ones life expectancy poses many challenges. Among them are financial issues. Though there are products and strategies available that retirees could use to mitigate this financial risk they are seldom used. Reasons range from high cost, lack of awareness of the available options, and general underestimation of longevity risk. This paper poses the question as to whether the federal government can provide a solution to this potential problem in a fair and cost efficient manner. Ideas are presented as well as a discussion of the pros and cons of such a program concept.

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: Panelists discuss current pension issues and ways in which the modeling process can be used to assist plan sponsors in addressing those issues. From the 1988 Record of Society of Actuaries, Vol. 14, No. 1.

Description: In March this year a charter for the new corporation, the College Retirement Equities Fund, was granted by the State of New York and it is expected that within a few months the Fund will begin operations as a supplement to TIAA annuities. The purpose of this paper is to describe this rather novel type of corporation, which presents some unusual and interesting actuarial problems. Comparisons of the performance of fixed annuities vs. variable annuities are provided.

Description: Retirees and their advisors should construct diversified portfolios of retirement income, allocating among various retirement income classes that include Social Security, annuities, and systematic withdrawals from invested assets. This essay discusses the pros and cons of various retirement income generators and the issues with constructing retirement income portfolios.

Description: This paper comments on the Successful Employee Retirement Income Outcomes in the United States (SERIOUS), a comprehensive model for the delivery of employment-based retirement income.