RECENT ACTIVITIES
Mortality Practice Note Released
The Pension Committee revised its practice note, Selecting and Documenting Mortality Assumptions for Pensions, in June to reflect a new mortality improvement scale (BB) published by the Retirement Plans Experience Committee of the Society of Actuaries (SOA) in 2012, mortality table RP-2014, and mortality improvement scale MP-2014 published by the SOA in 2014.
ERISA Advisory Council Holds Hearing
Ellen Kleinstuber, vice chairperson of the Pension Committee, testified before an ERISA Advisory Council hearing on May 28 regarding model notices and disclosures to assist defined benefit plan participants in understanding the options available to them when offered a lump-sum distribution as part of a pension risk transfer transaction. “Finding ways to communicate information in a clear, concise, and efficient manner will be critically important to ensuring that the information participants need for their retirement planning is rendered in a way that remains useful and facilitates the goal of improving their basis for decision making regarding lump-sum or annuity income,” she said.
AGES Scorecard Is Focus of Webinar
Eric Keener, chairperson of the Academy’s Forward Thinking Task Force (FTTF), was one of the speakers for the Canadian Institute of Actuaries’ May 19 webinar, “The New Brunswick Model Pension Plan.” Keener discussed why the model plan earned its high grade based on the Academy’s AGES (Alignment, Governance, Efficiency, and Sustainability) principles. Other speakers discussed why reform was needed and how the shared-risk plan was developed. The FTTF is currently working on additional scorecards of pension plans across the U.S. and other countries. See the task force’s previously released scorecards on the Retirement for the AGES website.
REGULATORY MATTERS
Comments Sent to IRS/Treasury on Suspension of Benefits Under MPRA
The Pension Practice Council (PPC) and Multiemployer Pension Plans Subcommittee sent a comment letter on April 6 to the IRS and Treasury Department regarding the suspensions of benefits under the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014 (MPRA). The subcommittee said Treasury should consider the immediacy of the timing of benefit-suspension implementation because delays could lead to larger benefit suspensions for some critical and declining plans. The PPC and subcommittee sent a separate comment letter to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation regarding partitions and facilitated mergers under MPRA.
PROFESSIONALISM MATTERS
Comments to ASB on Public Pension Issues
The Academy’s Public Plans Subcommittee and the Pension Finance Task Force (PFTF) submitted separate comments on June 12 for the Actuarial Standards Board’s (ASB) hearing on public pension issues on July 9 in Washington. The subcommittee said that while the ASB cannot enforce particular contribution regimens for public pensions, the ASB can control what constitutes an Actuarial Determined Contribution and require disclosure related to actuary reports. The PFTF made recommendations to the ASB on public plan disclosure and related assumptions.
Comments on ASB Exposure Draft on Pension Risks
The Public Plans Subcommittee and Pension Committee submitted separate comments in late May to the Actuarial Standards Board (ASB) on its exposure draft, Assessment and Disclosure of Risk Associated with Measuring Pension Obligations and Determining Pension Plan Contributions. The subcommittee said that because the financial health of pension plans cannot be separated from the plan sponsor’s health, actuaries can provide information illuminating the risks if sponsors fail to make contributions. The Pension Committee commented it was too early to require a comprehensive, formulaic assessment and disclosure of pension risk for all pension actuarial valuations used for funding purposes. Setting a standard focusing on providing principles and additional guidance in assessing risk would be more useful. | 
