Description: The general theme of discussion was pension plan funding and cost. The specific topics discussed included: impact of ERISA on corporate funding strategies, ethical considerations involved in deciding how to address inflation in pension plan costs, actuarial cash flow projections, actuarial role in evaluating alternative investment strategies, effect of ERISA's imposed Funding Standard Account, and discussion of the paper titled Introduction to Dynamics of Pension Funding. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, 1976 Vol.2 No. 1

Description: Review of Fifty-Second Annual Report of the Board of Actuaries of the Civil Service Retirement System. The authors found it to be a concise well written report discussing a number of issues facing all pensions in an inflationary economy. Both the title and the dull format in the usual Government Printing Office style would seem to insure this document's instantaneous consignment to dead storage. However, behind the cover of this small pamphlet is a concise, well written report discussing-a-number of the issues facing not only federal pension programs at the present time, but all pensions in an inflationary economy. For example, several of the 11 pages devoted to the main report discuss the implications of static assumptions ignoring inflation as opposed to dynamic assumptions including inflation.

Description: This paper examines tandem levels of salary and interest rates and finds that the absolute level of each assumption as well as the differential are significant cost determinants for defined benefit pension plans. In forming best-estimate salary and interest rate assumptions, the actuary must reconcile the difference, if any, between the currently observed rates and the valuation assumptions. Common practice is to choose expected long-term rather than observed rates for valuation purposes. The error in this procedure is analyzed and found to be tolerable for strictly temporary discrepancies between observed rates and valuation assumptions. For situations where these discrepancies are expected to persist for some time, a need is shown for nonuniform, calendar-year assumptions or their equivalent in order to develop best-estimate assumptions. Followed by several discussion papers submitted

Description: This study is designed to analyze new planning approaches and strategies that combine SPIAs with other techniques to create retirement income synergies. Using historical scenarios, it evaluates how different retirement income strategies hypothetically would have met four separate client goals: sustainable income, liquidity, accessibility and legacy. This report summarizes study findings and includes “planning points” to help readers interpret the study data.

Description: This article outlines the 2001 IRC, PBGC, Federal Income Tax, Social Security, and Medicare Amounts

Description: This paper suggests that two opposing pressures are at work in the United States. One is the limit to the number of retired adults that the nation can support. The other is the growing diversity of needs and desires of older people and employers. These two opposing pressures will frame the issues of the future.

Description: Acquiring a U.S. Operation—A Primer by Valerie Lopez-Zinzer from International Section News, October 2004

Description: Presented at October 1996 Annual Meeting. Accruals in nonqualified retirement plans have become subject to FICA taxation. In this session, IRS rules are discussed in detail with emphasis on options available for good faith years through 1996 and final regulation years starting in 1997.

Description: Small pension plans, are using Cost of Living Allowances 'COLA' in calculating benefits. This paper examines ways to handle COLA in valuations.

Description: Paper examines the asset allocation behavior of state and local pension plans.