The Public Plans Subcommittee published an issue brief introducing the objectives and principles for funding pension plans for state and local government. The brief states that policies used to establish funding for these plans should be formulated to maintain an appropriate balance among  the competing objectives of benefit security, generational equity, and contribution stability. Read the news release.

The Joint Committee on Retiree Health submitted comments to the Actuarial Standards Board on revisions to ASOP No. 35, Selection of Demographic and Other Noneconomic Assumptions for Measuring Pension Obligations.

The Pension Committee submitted comments to the Actuarial Standards Board on revisions to ASOP No. 35, Selection of Demographic and Other Noneconomic Assumptions for Measuring Pension Obligations.

The Pension Practice Council’s Forward Thinking Task Force released a public policy monograph that introduces a framework to examine retirement plans and policy proposals designed to provide a secure and sufficient retirement as part of its Retirement for the AGES initiative. In conjunction with the release of the monograph, the Academy hosted a Capitol Hill briefing on the initiative. Read the news release here.

Senior Pension Fellow Don Fuerst sent a letter to members of the U.S. House of Representatives regarding their request to make Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) consistent with the pension funding rules in the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21). Read the news release.

The Pension Committee submitted comments to the Internal Revenue Service on Notice 2013-49: Updated Static Mortality Tables for the Years 2014 and 2015.

The Academy’s Pension Practice Council published an issue brief that examines the different measurements of the obligations of defined-benefit pension plans that discusses two common measurements: solvency value and budget value. Read the news release.

Joint Committee on Retiree Health, Pension Committee, and Pension Finance Task Force sent a letter to the Actuarial Standards Board (ASB) on coordinating Actuarial Standards of Practice (ASOPs) involving retirement benefits.

The Pension Committee submitted comments to the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) regarding the disclosure of material events on the Annual Funding Notice (AFN) for defined benefit plans.

Pension Committee sent a letter to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) that supports the proposed regulations on premium rates, payment of premiums, and reducing regulatory burdens.

The Pension Committee submitted comments to the Actuarial Standards Board on its recent modeling ASOP exposure draft that included concerns that the potential ASOP could be applied too broadly.

The Pension Finance Task Force sent a letter to the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) that provides suggestions, based on financial economics, to improve accounting for single employer pension plans, an issue that FASB may consider revisiting.

The Pension Committee sent comments to the Internal Revenue Service regarding the Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan (Form 5500) that focus on the electronic submission of data on Schedules SB and MB. The committee applauds the electronic filing mandate, but raises concerns over how to ensure reliability of the data and suggests sample reviews to ensure better accuracy.

Health and Pension Practice Council sent a letter to the Actuarial Standards Board on coordinating Actuarial Standards of Practice (ASOP) affecting pension and retiree group benefits.

Joint Committee on Retiree Health submits comments to the Actuarial Standards Board on revisions to a second exposure draft of ASOP No. 6, Measuring Retiree Group Benefits Obligations and Determining Retiree Group Benefits Program Periodic Costs or Prefunding Contributions.

The Pension Committee published an issue brief addressing the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s deficit in its single-employer program.  The issue brief concludes that the agency’s methods and assumptions have produced a reasonable representation of the PBGC single-employer program’s current obligation and deficit.  The issue brief explains that while policymakers should explore new sources of income to address the deficit, immediate premium increases on plan sponsors are unnecessary and potentially counterproductive. Read the news release.

The Social Security Committee updated its annual issue brief on the 2013 Social Security Trustees Report that outlined the trust fund’s current financial status, long-range estimates of the program’s solvency, and the need to reform the program to ensure sustainable solvency.

The Pension Committee submitted its views to the Department of Labor regarding the agency’s proposal to add lifetime-income information to pension benefit statements. The committee commended the DOL for requiring lifetime income disclosures under section 105 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and offered comments on specific topics, including assumed rates of return, drawdown illustrations, and projected retirement ages.

Senior Pension Fellow Don Fuerst responded by letter to additional questions asked by Chairman Johnson of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security. The letter, related to Mr. Fuerst’s May 23 testimony to the subcommittee, provided further analysis on changing the benefit formula of Social Security, and modifying the program’s early and full retirement ages.

The Academy hosted a briefing on the need for retirees to secure a lifetime income. The briefing, "Risky Business: Living Longer Without Income for Life," coincides with the June 19 release of the Lifetime Income Risk Joint Task Force’s discussion paper. The Academy briefed policy makers on how improved life expectancy affects planning for retirement; the challenges to ensuring lifetime income; and potential solutions to the risk of outliving one's income, including emphasizing financial literacy and education, refocusing retirement plan design, and developing policies that support lifetime income needs.