MassMutual Names Actuarial Services Head

Mendelsohn takes on leadership of three actuarial and data teams that help manage 1,300 defined benefit (DB) and cash balance plans covering 800,000 participants and $16 billion in assets. He reports to Bill Silvanic, a senior vice president of product for MassMutual’s Retirement Services.

Mendelsohn says he will work to further expand MassMutual’s ability to match investment strategies to longer-term costs and enable the firm to provide more predictable year-over-year results for plan sponsor clients.

He adds that, despite the general trend away from DB arrangements in favor of defined contribution (DC) plans, many employers continue to provide DB pension plans for their employees and need comprehensive services to ensure they achieve the goal of providing secure, dependable income for retirees. As the DB pension market has contracted, so too has the number of firms providing support services for plans and financial advisers who market them, he says.

Mendelsohn brings 30 years of pension actuarial consulting and compliance experience to MassMutual. Prior to joining the mutual insurer, he held roles as a retirement practice leader with Aon Hewitt and served as executive vice president and chief actuary with Retirement System Group Inc. He is an federally enrolled actuary, a fellow of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

He holds a B.A. in mathematics from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Albany.