Description: This article provides a brief summary of the October 25-26, 2010 Institute of Actuaries of India's Seminar on Current Issues in Retirement Benefits held in Mumbai, India. The purpose of the seminar was to provide a general and technical update to all Indian professionals who are involved in the design, management, accounting and evaluation of employee benefit schemes.

Description: In this third issue of International News in 2022, we feature a contribution by SCOR, a leading reinsurer, highlighting the Actuarial Awards that SCOR presents annually, since 1996, to the best academic work in actuarial science, with annual prizes in several countries throughout the world. We also feature an article by Jessica Leong, FCAS, on barriers that Asian women must overcome to become leaders. Jessica recounts her own experience and how in overcoming some challenges she became the first Asian president of the Casualty Actuarial Society.

Description: At this time of economic distress, companies throughout the world are intensely focused on upgrading their risk management capabilities, as are their home country regulators. This article explores one example of how a part of this transformation was accomplished for several major Korean insurers.

Description: This article is the first of a two-part series on international developments. It discusses the actuarial focus on application of risk expertise to insurance and pensions vs. the newly developing focus on enterprise risk management.

Description: Update of climate risk related governance and disclosure.

Description: The Ecuadorian Actuarial Association (AEACT) was admitted, as a Full Member (FMA) of the International Actuarial Association (IAA) in October 2021. This constitutes a great achievement for a small country like Ecuador with 17 million inhabitants, a GDP of 100 billion U.S. dollars, and no more than 20 professional and registered actuaries. This important goal was a challenge both personally and for the team that worked hard to achieve it. I remember that it all began 28 years ago, when I attended as a guest to present a summary about the actuarial profession in our country at the World Congress of Actuaries that was held in Montreal, Canada. This congress was the opportunity to learn about the functions and activities of the associations of more developed countries with a significant number of actuaries and whose profession already had an acceptance in professional societies such as the Society of Actuaries in the United States, the Faculty of Actuaries of the United Kingdom, or the Institut des Actuaries of France.

Description: As insurance companies in many jurisdictions around the world are in the midst a major overhaul of financial reporting processes for insurance contracts, the question about tapping on the experience of Solvency II may help these companies to implement IFRS 17. There are a few similarities between IFRS 17 and Solvency II, most notably with respect to the economic balance sheet approach, or the probability-weighted cash flow discounting techniques that both methodologies require. In addition, both IFRS 17 and Solvency II imply as broad and profound impact on all aspects of how insurers conduct business, from valuation methodologies and governance, data, processes, and technology impacts. Changes in roles and responsibilities between actuarial and finance departments also represent a considerable business impact. However, in this article the author highlights the salient differences between IFRS 17 and Solvency II.

Description: Update on the actuarial profession in Malaysia where the current major concern is the issue of risk based capital.

Description: A brief primer of the euro, its noted lack of impact on the European Life insurance and pension industries and anticipates the expansion of the European Union,

Description: The author discusses riding the globalization wave. To walk on water in the information flood and the foreseeable globalization wave, we need the highest business ethical standards, the wisdom to make informed decisions, and the willingness to have an open-mind with patience to accept and handle differences. All of these can be summarized in these qualities: responsible, caring and respectful.