Description: Pension accounting standards continue to evolve across the globe with objectives, methods and assumptions varying, sometimes substantially, from one jurisdiction to the next. The presenters will compare the primary global pension accounting standards (US GAAP and IFRS), review recent developments and address whether or not the current standards adequately serve stakeholders such as plan participants, investors, management and regulators.

Description: This article describes a new pension accounting standard for multinational companies and compares its provisions to those of the U.S. accounting standards. From Pension Section News, April 1998, Issue No. 36.

Description: Results and discussion of a survey of FAS 87 Assumptions employed for non- USA defined benefit plans as of 12/31/1996

Description: This web page contains a link to an Excel table, provided by the SOA Pension Section, with the month-end Moody's Long-Term Corporate Bond Yields - AA Bond Ratings - from January 1986 through June 2011. The Pension Section stopped updating the table after June 30, 2011.

Description: An update on the Capital Market Assumptions used for asset allocation maybe useful to actuaries given the parallels with the assumptions an actuary uses to measure plan obligations.

Description: This paper takes the position that a truly transparent pension accounting expense could be developed to produce superior reporting that reflects experience as it occurs. Contributions could also be based on some asset and liability information about the pension plan, but with flexibility to allow for more controllable and stable contributions. From Current Pension Actuarial Practice in Light of Financial Economics Symposium, M-RS04-1.

Description: Other Post Employment Benefits OPEB deals with the promise of providing coverage for post employment non-pension benefits such as health care and life insurance. This article focuses on the recent implementation of GASB No. 43 and 45 which requires public entities to value and recognize the liability of post employment non-pension benefits.

Description: Traditional pension mathematics assumes that mortality rates are fixed at a valuation date. If mortality rates reduce after a valuation date, the liabilities of a defined benefit plans 'DB plans' increase, leading to deficits. Such deficits are somewhat unpredictable, because the evolution of mortality rates is a random process. This problem, which is often called longevity risk, makes the maintenance of DB plans difficult. The International Accounting Standards Board 'IASB' has plans to tackle the arduous problem of how to disclose longevity risk on financial statements. The IASB was established in 2001 to create universal accounting standards, called International Accounting Reporting Standards 'IFRSs'. A primary objective of this paper is to propose a number of methods that can help actuaries and plan sponsors quantify and disclose longevity risk.

Description: This web page contains links, provided by the SOA Pension Section, to the Citigroup Pension Discount Curve and Liability Index, and to related explanatory material. Formerly provided by Salomon Brothers, these measures can be used by employers to satisfy SEC guidelines when determining the discount rates used for pension and postretirement benefit accounting under FASB Statement of Financial Accounting Standards FAS 87, 'Employers' Accounting for Pensions,' and FAS 106, 'Employers' Accounting for Postretirement Benefits Other Than Pensions.'

Description: The association between disclosed financial accounting data and firm value is examined, while incorporating the effect of managerial discretion in reporting those data. Assumptions used to compute a firm's pension liability are addressed. These findings suggest that analysts recognize managers' use of unjustified assumptions and the disclosed accounting numbers are appropriately discounted.