Journey Towards Holistic Development-From Milton Friedman to Mahatma Gandhi

By Dr. N. A. Mujumdar

INTRODUCTION

I deem it a great privilege to deliver the Seventh Professor G. S. Diwan Memorial Lecture. My grateful thanks to Shri M. G. Diwan for inviting me to give this lecture.

Professor Diwan was a pioneer in the field of actuarial profession, and appropriately known as the father of Indian actuarial profession. He was a caring and affectionate teacher cast in the mould of traditional guru - shishya parampara. There is one dimension of his personality which has impressed me most. This aspect of his personality was highlighted by Principal G. L. Abhyankar who spoke on the occasion of presentation of Gold Medal to Professor Diwan on 7th March 1980.

Funding Regulations in U.S.A – The Pension Protection Act 2006

By Teja Ranade-Gadhoke

Prompted by the recent default of large defined benefit pension plans in the U.S.A. and the looming breakdown of the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PBGC) – the guarantor of the US pension plans, in the early part of 2005, the Bush administration proposed pension funding reforms which would make the minimum funding requirements of pension plans more stringent and in turn strengthen the pension insurance system.

On July 28, 2006, these reforms were passed by a majority vote by the House of Representatives as the Pension Protection Act 2006 (hereafter referred to as PPA). It is the most comprehensive set of pension reforms since the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) enacted in 1974. These regulations apply to the funding of single-employer and multiple-employer benefit plans and come into effect starting with the first plan year beginning after 01/01/2008. This paper is intended to give a brief description of the key provisions of the Pension Protection Act 2006 and its contrast with the old funding regulations under ERISA.