Pension

The Academy has released an Essential Elements paper based on the Social Security Committee’s March 2022 issue brief Raising the Social Security Retirement Age.

The retirement age is a key consideration in addressing Social Security’s long-term financial health.

Essential Elements is a series of concise and informative papers developed by the Academy, designed to provide a quick and easy-to-understand overview of key public policy issues of interest.

The Public Plans Committee published a practice note detailing considerations for working with public defined benefit pension plans that use fixed rate funding.

The Pension Committee updated and finalized a previously exposed draft public policy practice note providing background and ideas about how a pension actuary might comply with ASOP No. 56, Modeling.

The Pension Committee released a public policy practice note Selecting and Documenting Mortality Assumptions for Measuring Pension Obligations, updating a 2015 practice note, revised to reflect updated ASOPs (Actuarial Standards of Practice), including changes in ASOP No. 35 that are effective for actuarial reports issued on or after August 1, 2021, and when the measurement date in such report is on or after August 1, 2021.

The Multiemployer Plans Committee sent a letter to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) advancing ideas about the Special Financial Assistance (SFA) application process, in regard to the expiration of the priority group period on March 11, 2023.

The Multiemployer Plans Committee submitted comments to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) on its proposed rule about interest rate assumptions regarding a withdrawing employer's liability under a multiemployer plan.

The Pension Committee published a practice note, Measuring Pension Obligations for Difficult-to-Value Plan Provisions, providing information to actuaries on current or emerging practices regarding defined benefit pension plan provisions that may be difficult to adequately measure using traditional valuation procedures.

The Pension Committee and Retirement Policy and Design Evaluation Committee submitted a letter to congressional leadership commenting on provisions included in the Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0), the EARN Act, and the RISE & SHINE Act.

Members of the Pension, Multiemployer, and Public Plans Committees published a discussion brief intended to familiarize actuaries with commonly used approaches and considerations when dealing with augmented mortality assumptions.

The Academy's Social Security Committee released an issue brief that explores a wide variety of proposals made over the years for changing the formulas for determining benefits by members of Congress, government-appointed panels and commissions, and outside experts, with an eye toward how the proposed changes would affect the balance between individual equity and social adequacy.

The Academy's Social Security Committee released an issue brief that explores a wide variety of proposals made over the years for increasing the system’s revenue by members of Congress, government-appointed panels and commissions, and outside experts.

The Academy's Lifetime Income Risk Joint Committee released an issue brief that provides a discussion of the various types of insured annuities available to individuals and their potential uses, as well as some relevant tax implications.

The Academy's Lifetime Income Risk Joint Committee released an issue brief that that provides a discussion of a variety of approaches for adding annuity options to defined contribution (DC) plans providing for insured lifetime income that begins immediately, is deferred, or is provided under an accumulation product that converts funds to lifetime income.

The Academy's Lifetime Income Risk Joint Committee released an issue brief providing a discussion of Qualifying Longevity Annuity Contracts (QLACs), which are insured annuities paid out one or more years after purchase, possibly starting at an advanced age.

The Academy's Social Security Committee has released a one-pager to accompany its issue brief on the 2022 Social Security Trustees Report examining the latest detailed annual assessment by the federal government of the program’s solvency.