This release introduces two major new features for governmental pension plans: Unit Credit accrual methods (PUC and TUC) and detailed IRC 415(b) maximum benefit limit logic. It also delivers significant improvements to the Gain/(Loss) reconciliation framework including single-model support, an updated workbook, and optional automation. Additional enhancements expand accrual period flexibility, final average earnings configurability, and alternate salary resilience. Performance improvements target expected benefit payment streams and multi-year projection runtimes.

New Features

Projected Unit Credit (PUC) and Traditional Unit Credit (TUC) Accrual Methods

The governmental pension library model now supports PUC and TUC accrual methods, accounting for governmental-specific assumptions and benefit structures including modified cash refunds and other governmental plan options. This is a major new funding method addition, enabling actuaries to produce Unit Credit based valuations directly within the governmental pension library.

415(b) Maximum Benefit Logic for Governmental Plans

Detailed IRC Section 415(b) Maximum Benefit Limit logic and controlling parameters are now available for governmental plans. This ensures that projected and valued benefits do not exceed statutory maximum benefit thresholds for plan participants.

New configuration options include:

• Age adjustment basis for the 415(b) limit
• Payment form adjustment basis for the 415(b) limit
• Rounding and increase in projected Dollar limits
• Adjustments for form of payment using 3 proscribed Actuarial Equivalence basis

Enhancements / Changes

Gain / (Loss) Reconciliation in Same Model As Liability Calculation

Gain/(Loss) liability products can now run within the same model as the liability calculator, eliminating the need for a separate model. In addition, the library model:

• Added compatibility with models using 2 separate benefit definition tables.
• The necessary entries to reconcile liability G/L are captured with projections run for 0 months.
• Added a projection template demonstrating Gain/(Loss) reconciliation. The template excludes Company variables tagged “Global” and is the recommended approach for generating Gain/(Loss) reconciliation projections.

Updated Gain / (Loss) Reconciliation Workbook and Automation (Beta)

The Gain/(Loss) workbook and supporting automation have been updated to correspond to the Gain/(Loss) liability product in addition to other enhancements. The workbook is in Beta status and is located in Slope Pension & OPEB -> Gain (Loss) -> Beta. For access to the automation, contact support@slopesoftware.com. Other enhancements:

• Added a central table mapping all workbook visualization items back to their corresponding model product variable names.
• Participant identifiers are now output from the liability projection as product variables rather than read from model point inputs, allowing concatenated identifiers where needed.
• An automation tool is available on request that accepts 3 pension liability projections as inputs and populates the relevant data tables for a separate Gain/(Loss) reconciliation projection.

Added Entry Age Accrual Period Option “From first funding age to last age with a future benefit”

Added a new accrual period option “From first funding age to last age with a future benefit”. When selected, Valuation Pay is reported specific to the retirement decrement. This option is configured in the Funding Span column of the Entry Age Parameters table.

Modified Final Average Earnings to Support Accrual Basis

Added an accrual basis column to the Plan Structure Final Average Earnings table, consistent with the existing cash balance feature approach. Allows Final Average Earnings plans to define a complex accrual basis rather than being restricted to a compensation basis.

Enhanced Alternate Salary Details to Fallback to Valuation Assumptions

Blank entries in the salary scale column of the alternate salary table now default to rates from the Valuation Assumptions table instead of applying 0%.

Performance Improvements

• Resolved performance bottlenecks in expected benefit payment stream computations for large governmental pension plans.
• Introduced control variables across several multi-year projection product variables to suppress unnecessary 2-dimensional array calculations, improving runtime for all multi-year projections with new entrants.

Fixes

Expected Benefit Payment Streams

• Fixed lump sum benefit payment stream variables to apply separate mortality assumptions for disabled vs. non-disabled participants during benefit deferral periods, correcting inaccurate PVFB calculations for plans with deferred lump sum payment forms.
• Fixed product variable Retirement Time Latest to include Terminated Vested records at the valuation date, ensuring consistency across active and terminated-vested participant populations.

Compensation

Aligned logic of product variable Alternate Salary Compensation Annualization Factor Year of Hire with the standard compensation annualization methodology to prevent incorrect salary projections for mid-year hires under alternate salary structures.

Life Insurance COLA Provisions

Corrected COLA provisions in product variables Life Insurance – Stream of Unit Benefit Healthy and Life Insurance – Stream of Unit Benefit Disabled to properly reflect cost of living adjustments in projected liability calculations for participants receiving life insurance benefits.

This release introduces significant improvements to runtime performance, granular controls around the Entry Age accruals, and a stream of annual expected benefit payments, giving actuaries more precision and flexibility in pension valuations and projections. New features also include several updates to standard reporting/workbooks.

Enhancements

The library model has several enhancements that provide additional options and features:

• The ability to remove compensation limits from average compensation when calculating benefit amounts
• Additional granular controls for use with Entry Age accrual method related to accrual period, interest timing, timing of salary increases.
• A new product variable, Participant Substatus, is captured in results representing the model point field that determines status. This will allow tracking of results separately between substatus. For instance Active Employees, and Active Employees currently in the DROP.
• For Active and Vested Terminated records, users now have more flexibility for defining temporary annuity payment forms.

Option to Remove Compensation Limits in Average Compensation

The library model now contains a toggle switch to remove compensation limits when calculating an Average Compensation. See toggle in column Remove Compensation Limits? in table structure Plan Structure – Final Average Earnings Plan. 

More Granular Entry Age Accrual controls

Users can now use newly created table structure Entry Age Parameters to adjust the timing by a fraction of a year for interest discounting, salary increases, and decrements used when measuring Present Value of Future Benefits at Entry and the Present Value of Future Compensation at Entry. In addition, this new table structure provides for two accrual period options using the Entry Age method, the first is from First Funding Age to Ultimate Retirement Age, the second option is from First Funding Age to last age with a future benefit. This table structure is nested within the top level table Adjustments for Annual Valuation Systems in column Entry Age Parameters.

Additional Result Splits by New Participant Substatus

The value of the model point field that determines participant status is now captured in the product variable results of a projection. This enables the separation of results into different categories of the same status. For instance, separating results for Active employees and Active employees who have entered a DROP.

Additional Parameterization for Temporary Annuity Forms of Payments 

A new table structure Annuity Temporary Table adds support for annuity temporary periods defined via tables (not only integer ages), which expands flexibility for payment form definitions. This new table structure is nested within table structure Annuity Form Details.

New Workbook

Pension Trace Life New Entrant

Published new standard workbook Pension Trace Life New Entrant that is compatible with multi-year projections with new entrants. The new workbook allows users to trace individual new entrant lives and compare outcomes across entry timing scenarios, which improves validation of new entrant assumptions. 

Changes and Fixes

• Separated the standard 100-year expected benefit payment stream from other calculations so it can be produced from a standard 1-year valuation run, which simplifies generation of this common review output. Expected benefit payment stream is reported by benefit definition.
• Modified Product variable Decrements to be compatible with:
  • 100% rates of decrement prior to ultimate retirement age.
  • 100% rates of decrement and a retirement date provided by a model point field.
• Streamlined payment form factor calculation chains for:
  • Post-decrement death annuities to provide a factor based on annual payments. See variables beginning with “Post Decrement Death Annuity”.
  • Life insurance forms to provide a factor based on annual payments. See variables beginning with “Life Insurance”.
• Product variables Expected Benefit Payment stream to match PVFB for Actives or VTs – Lump Sum and Expected Benefit Payment stream to match PVFB for Actives or VTs have been modified to resolve an issue when using mid-year decrement timing to produce lump sums payments deferred to a specific age.
• Fixed product variable Compensation Participant History Interpolated to return correct interpolated compensation amounts between reported annual compensation amounts
• Modified multiple product variables associated with the benefit formula component “Alternate Salary” to be compatible with future new entrants in a multi-year projection of an open employee group.
• Modified product variable Age Beneficiary (Unrounded) to be more efficient and to prevent errors when there are significant age differences between participant and beneficiary.
• Fixed product variable Annuity 70 PV Expected Stream of Unit Benefits to correct for potential errors at assumed ultimate retirement age when using mid-year decrement timing to produce the returned payment form factor. 
• Corrected product variable Average Compensation Lookback period for potential errors when current years of service is less than the averaging period in the average compensation calculation.
• Modified the product variables associated with the Present Value Factor benefit formula component. The revisions increase efficiency and align results with prior benchmarks. See variables beginning with “PV Factor”.
• Modified product variables associated with Cash Balance Plan benefit formula components. The revisions increase efficiency and align results with prior benchmarks.
• Fixed product variable Benefit Definition Eligibility to properly handle mid-year decrements and benefit eligibility in the assumed year of ultimate retirement.
• Modified product variable In Pay Record 91 –  Expected Benefit Stream to include lump sum payments to retirees.
• Corrected an issue with multi-year projections using mid-year decrements and deferred annuities in producing expected benefit payment streams. See product variable Multi Year 02 VT Expected Benefit Payment | t .
• Updated the Pension Liabilities by Benefit Definitions dashboard to exclude vested terminated compensation from the “Rate of Pay at Valuation Date” field, which improves reported values for affected plans.