Description: Robert North critiques the article Reinventing Pension Actuarial Science by Lawrence Bader and Jeremy Gold. From The Pension Forum, January 2003, Volume 15, Issue No. 1.

Description: The Employee Retiree Income Security Act, or ERISA, establishes an important statutory role for pension actuaries in the United States. As part of its statutory goal to protect the retirement security of America’s workers, ERISA requires tax-qualified defined benefit plans to obtain an actuarial valuation of plan reserves each year. When valuing the plan’s reserves, the actuary is required by ERISA to act on behalf of plan participants. Thus, the plan actuary fulfills an important role in maintaining the plan’s ability to meet its on-going obligations to the plan participants and their beneficiaries. From Pension Section News, April 2006, Issue No. 61.

Description: Summary of the health section council’s research project to assess the accuracy of commonly used IBNR estimation methods over a wide range of scenarios.

Description: This paper discusses approaches for reporting pre-need plans in the Phillipines under the generally accepted accounting principles of the United States “U.S. GAAP. In particular, a focus is on contracts accounted for under SFAS 97 investment-oriented contracts.

Description: Article describing the purpose of the Academy’s Actuarial Opinion and Memorandum (AOM) Discussion Group.

Description: A discussion of third-party summons, particularly those issued in promoter examinations. Satisfaction of the IRS's request for information outside of court in the most cost-effective manner is usually the best course.

Description: The SOA president emphasizes the importance of actuaries maintaining their level of professionalism by always striving to inform and prepare the decision maker with all the possibilities, not just the quick answers or the minimum level of disclosure.

Description: Article discusses VM-31 requirements and actuarial report overview.

Description: This article discusses adjusting IRC 415 limits for prior distributions. The proposed IRC 415 regulations issued last May contained guidance regarding how to adjust the benefit limits for prior distributions. This is commendable on the part of the IRS. How to adjust the IRC 415 limits for prior distributions has long been a source of confusion even for experienced pension actuaries. The best methodology is not immediately clear, and some methods have become common practice even if they can lead to inconsistent or unreasonable results. From Pension Section News, January 2006, No. 60.

Description: Letter to editor responding to "“Blood, Guts, ASOPs and Delivery System Reform", interpreting ASOPs differently than the authors.