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: 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: 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: Other Post Employment Benefits OPEB deals with the promise of providing coverage for post employment non-pension benefits such as health care and life insurance. This article focuses on the recent implementation of GASB No. 43 and 45 which requires public entities to value and recognize the liability of post employment non-pension benefits.

Description: The U.S. Bureau of the Census has rightfully earned a reputation for technical excellence. However, the author has run across an instance where this venerable, distinguished agency went sadly astray - namely, in connection with the number and proportion of employees of state and local governments who are covered by Social Security and Disability Insurance.

Description: A comparison of Social Security benefits, for a hypothetical new entrant to the program, between the 1972 Social Security Act and the 1977 Social Security Act.

Description: This article discusses the valuation and funding of the military retirement system under Public Law 98-94, signed September 24, 1983.

Description: This article announces a new research project, co-sponsored by a number of actuarial organizations, to evaluate macrodemographic and microsimulation models that could be used to analyze retirement and other public policy proposals.

Description: This is a review of the book, 'Retirement Systems for Public Employees' by Thomas P. Bleakney, F.S.A. This book assumes considerable importance in the literature dealing with Pension subjects because it speaks authoritatively about a major segment of the Pension field concerning which very little has been written. In summary, the book consistently takes a calm, dispassionate, academic view of this category of pension plans that exist in a pragmatic, political, and sometimes volatile environment. Considering the expected readership, the author does a particularly fine job of discussing the actuarial aspects and the investment aspects.

Description: Reflecting Congressional desire for unified reports on all Federal retirement systems, Public Law 95-595, signed by the President in October 1978, requires annual reports from these systems similar to the ERISA reports from private sector plans. The author, as Chief Actuary of the DoD, discusses the first report produced.