The nature of defined benefit pension plans necessarily entails the risk of underfunded pensions, with potential benefit cutbacks in case of employer insolvency. There is general public dissatisfaction with the current system for funding pensions and for addressing benefit reductions on wind-up for pension plans with insufficient assets, while governments struggle to balance the interests of plan sponsors with those of members and other stakeholders.
Pension plans constitute one of the profession’s largest practice areas and one where actuaries are recognized as pivotal to the effort of the security of pension payments.