Description: This is an article that was written by the chairman of the committee that developed 1983 Table a, which NAIC has adopted for individual annuity valuation. This article compares the mortality rates in the 1983 Table a with those of two prior annuity tables.

Description: The paper is an individual risk theoretical examination of annuities for the aged. Through retirement systems, social security and insurance plans, annuities for the aged are a very significant matter and are worthy of inquiry. From the Actuarial Research Clearing House 1992 Vol. 2.

Description: Recent guidance in the form of Rev. Proc. 2006- 13 provides a general safe harbor for the fair market value of a deferred-annuity contract when determining the amount includible in income on conversion of a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA.

Description: New Zealand is about to launch its first variable annuity with guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefits. The product design is mindful of the lessons from the financial crisis in the United States, Europe and Japan.

Description: Often an investor is offered an annuity for a fixed purchase price. The computation of the yield rate implied by this transaction must presently be computed by an iteration scheme, usually on a computer. With reasonable parameters, the problem of determining the yield rate can be readily solved with a desk calculator. From the Actuarial Research Clearing House 1982, Vol.1.

Description: The article analyzes Private Letter Ruling 202031008, which considers how Internal Revenue Code sections 72(q) and (u) apply to an annuity contract issued to a trust. In particular, the Ruling interprets the terms “taxpayer,” “holder” and “held by” in those Code sections in situations where a non-qualified deferred annuity contract is issued to a grantor trust or a non-grantor trust. The Ruling’s analysis and conclusions differ in some respects depending on which of these types of trusts is involved. In addition, although the Ruling does not address sections 72(s) or 72(e)(4)(C), the Ruling has potential implications under those provisions because they also use the term “holder” and “holds,” respectively.

Description: Introduction to longevity insurance, including product design and a market overview

Description: Traditionally, life insurance companies have depended on individual whole life insurance policies for their growth in assets. This has changed in recent years. Now, annuities, particularly individual annuities, have become the largest part of new individual premiums. Companies have responded by issuing a plethora of imaginative products. These are often founded on a variety of recently developed financial instruments, such as derivatives. This article is about the Actuarial Foundation's study of the risks of these new annuity products and the new financial instruments underlying them. The study will culminate in a scientific conference in New York in December 1998.

Description: The article summarizes several recent private letter rulings from the IRS addressing the "investor control" doctrine in the context of funds of funds.

Description: This article delves into a new line of statistical thinking of the author, that may be useful for product development actuaries. The key concept is how product design can produce products that diversify quickly, meaning that the company can be confident of a profitable product line, based on fewer sales than might be true for other designs.