Tag: Actuarial issues

The effort to de-risk defined benefit (DB) pension plans is an immensely complex task that presents no shortage of challenges or opportunities to retirement plan sponsors and consultants.

The aggregate funded ratio for U.S. corporate defined benefit (DB) pension plans decreased to 86% in April, according to Wilshire Consulting.

MassMutual Retirement Services appointed Steven Mendelsohn as national practice leader for the firm’s defined benefit actuarial consulting practice.

Investors in North America and Europe are making use of smart beta indexes in diverse ways, according to a survey from global asset manager Russell Investments.

Employers are finding more reasons to de-risk their defined benefit (DB) retirement plans, says a new analysis from Buck Consultants.

Some defined benefit (DB) plan sponsors are reluctant to transfer liabilities to an insurer, saying it is too expensive, particularly compared with the accounting liability, Mercer says.

The aggregate funded status of the 100 largest U.S. corporate defined benefit pension plans fell by $5 billion during March, as measured by the Milliman 100 Pension Funding...

More multiemployer pension plans have a favorable projected funding status for 2014.

Deloitte and Penbridge Advisors have established a strategic alliance to provide sponsors of U.S. defined benefit pension plans with pension risk transfer (PRT) advisory services.

Market conditions like those seen in 2013 benefited those plan sponsors that had not yet moved to de-risk their defined benefit (DB) plans.

The estimated cost, as a percentage of accounting liability, of a U.S. retiree annuity purchase decreased during February from 108.5% to 108.4%, according to Mercer.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will hold a phone forum next month about retirement plan terminations.

For February, the average cost of purchasing annuities from an insurer decreased slightly from 108.5% to 108.4% of the accounting liability, according to the Mercer U.S. Pension Buyout...

A group of retirement industry representatives recently sent a comment letter to the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) emphasizing the need for uninterrupted access to the Social Security...

The Dietrich Pension Risk Transfer Index, which tracks the relative attractiveness of annuitizing pension liabilities, remained basically unchanged through February and into March.

Even the best laid plans can go off track, and this is true for defined benefit plan portfolios.

A strong recovery in asset values and pension funding levels hasn’t slowed the pace of change in institutional investment portfolio strategies, according to an analysis from Greenwich Associates.

Group pension buyouts experienced strong sales during 2013, says a new survey.

Defined benefit plan sponsors have a window of opportunity to take action on pension risk.

In a stronger position, new choices are being made in the management of pensions in Russell Investments’ $20 billion club.