FRA: Pension Actuarial Gains/Losses difference, ask, different, statements

ba736

CFAI Reading 22 Pg 135 Question 11.

They ask for actual return on plan assets , and it is easily found as :
Exp. Return + Actuarial Gain ( 3445+ 784 = 4239 ).

My Question is this:

Actuarial Gain/Loss has TWO components , one is the difference between exp return and actual return , and another is changes in pension obligation due to changes in actuarial assumption.

Are these two numbers found in two different sections of the pension statements i.e. obligations and assets ?

Are they ever mixed up?
i.e. Actuarial Gains in Pension assets are ALWAYS the results of diff. between expected and actual returns on plan assets.

while actuarial gains in Pension Obligations are always the results of changes in the assumptions of calculating benefits ( apportioned to the current period) . I'm really confused by what this term is in the obligations part.

Please help in shedding some light on this. I'm fed up imagining what actuarial means , especially as it seems to signify different things in different places

brainsX

CPK , I thot so too ,until I read this one :CFAI Reading 22 Pg 135 Question 11.


Its a straight calculation using Actuarial Gain on Plan assets:

given expected return on Plan Assets calculate the actual return on plan assets .

Only thing given that was important ( among a host of other things ) was the Actuarial Gains number .

giants2010

My idea is that because its actuarial gains and losses under pension assets, it doesn't include any plan amendments, as that would be under the PBO "actuarial gains/losses".