Description: Kevin Binder, chair of the Pension Section Research Team, shares a summary of two recently completed projects that are now posted on the SOA website.The first topic is on the drawing down of retirement savings and the second is on the valuation of pension plan embedded options. From Pension Section News, October 2011, Issue No. 75.

Description: The article is a summary of Society of Actuaries report entitled “Annuity Market Pricing Approaches” sponsored by the Retirement Section Research Committee. The report examines the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA) methodology of developing solvency valuation assumptions, compares it to methods used in the U.S., and considers if it could be used in other markets, such as U.S. group annuities or individual annuities

Description: This paper uses economic principles to analyze alternative recognition schemes for end-of-period retirement plan liabilities the candidates, using U.S. nomenclature, are the vested benefit obligation VBO, the accumulated benefit obligation ABO and the projected benefit obligation PBO.

Description: Chapter 3 presents a very general overview of the data from public employee retirement systems in California, Mississippi, New York, Ohio, and Texaseach in respect to demographic and economic assumptions. From A Study of Public Employees Retirement Systems, M-RS96-1.

Description: Chapter 4 offers a summary of the assumptions and methods used in the various actuarial valuation reports that were collected, giving a general understanding for the continuum of actuarial bases. No attempt is made to draw any strong statistical conclusions. From A Study of Public Employees Retirement Systems, M-RS96-1.

Description: This paper discusses the limits placed on actuarial pension practice since the passage of ERISA. From The Pension Forum, January 2003, Volume 15, Issue No. 1.

Description: This paper describes rates of disability based on recent experience under public retirement plans for U.S. Government Employees: 1988–1993. From Pension Section News, April 1998, Issue No. 36.

Description: This paper is a follow-up to the papers in the January and April 2005 editions of the Pension Forum, which focused on the interest assumptions to be used in pension funding. This paper focuses on the other assumptions used to calculate pension liabilities—mortality, early retirement and expense. From Pension Section News, April 2006, No. 61.

Description: The report presents the results of a survey on asset valuation methods for defined benefit plans. Information was provided on 9,670 pension plans, 9026 US plans, 612 Canadian plans, and 32 other plans. Fair market value is the frequently used method, especially for smaller plans.

Description: This study summarizes the results of the the Society of Actuaries' Non-Mortality Decrement Task Force data collection effort of plan turnover data for years 1994-2000. Service, by itself, seems not to be a good predictor of retirement. Service and age are each good predictors for termination it is found. The report is designed to offer actuaries information about turnover as it pertains to defined benefit plans.