Description: An article that highlights the paper Retirement Trends and Patterns in the 1990s: The End of an Era? The trend toward earlier retirement is documented and the influences of a possible shift in this trend are considered. From the Pension Section News, August 1998.

Description: Chairperson talks about the activities of the section.

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 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 paper develops a family of accrued benefit actuarial cost methods which permits the purchase of retirement income at either an accelerating or decelerating rate. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1967, Vol. 19, Pt. 1, No. 54.

Description: This panel discussion examines the valuation problems, funding methods, valuing ancillary benefits, and fluctuations in experience of small pension plans.

Description: This paper examines how the cash balance plan design is related to the normal cost and accrued liability in the various actuarial cost methods, as well as the interaction of the economic assumptions in the valuation. The analysis will show that the traditional cost methods may understate the actual liability. The paper also presents an alternative cost method, along with its advantages and disadvantages. From Cash Balance Symposium Monograph, M-RS02-3.

Description: This panel discussion examines pension plan dynamics including social security integration, benefit and cost projections under dynamic assumptions, and best estimate limitations. From the 1977 Record of the Society of Actuaries, Vol.3 No.3.

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: The Retirement Plans Experience Committee (RPEC) hired Ernst & Young to perform a literature review and assessment of mortality improvement rates in the United States population.