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: This article reviews the proposed new accounting standards for pensions for governmental plans. From the Pension Section News, October 2011, Issue No. 75.

Description: Summary of the annual cost-of-living adjustment and changes in other wage-indexed programs parameters for Social Security in 2024.

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: Retirement plan trustees are tasked with retirement plan administration. Trustees are responsible for hiring service providers and monitoring the quality of their work. This article discusses actuarial audits as a due diligence tool for public plan trustees.

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: 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.

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: A summary of learnings about multiemployer and public plans. Encouraging all retirement actuaries to become better educated on the various sectors of the retirement industry. Take time to meet actuaries from other sectors to learn about their experiences and challenges. We’ll all benefit when we have a better understanding of each other and focus on areas of common concern rather than our differences

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.