In response to the continuing concern over the funding status of the US pension system, Congress passed the Pension Protection Act. While the new Act is focused on putting pension plans on a sounder financial footing, the actuarial profession is faced with sorting out a host of new rules that will almost certainly lead to greater funding volatility. Simultaneously, the profession is grappling with new balance sheet volatility resulting from the new mark-to-market accounting in FAS 158.

Sponsors of frozen pension plans are dismayed to discover that their frozen plans in a mark-to-market world display even more volatility than their ongoing plans once did in the “old days” of actuarial smoothing.

Volatility mitigation strategies are very much the talk of the actuarial profession. This year’s Pension Symposium takes a close look at traditional risk mitigation strategies, as well as some of newer strategies on the horizon.

The Symposium consists of four sessions – two on Wednesday afternoon and two on Thursday morning. The speakers address the current state of risk mitigation in pension plans by discussing the full spectrum of hedging strategies. In addition, they share state of the art thinking on the emerging trends in pension finance solutions. The purpose of each session is to identify potential pathways for our profession as we collaborate with other stakeholders in defining the future direction of pension plans.

Selected speakers from the large consulting firms, government agencies, financial entities and other Washington related groups are invited to present their views on various aspects of de-risking pension plans. Attendees are encouraged to participate actively in the discussion in this highly interactive “roundtable” format.

Speakers