Description: This article discusses two sets of blended by sex 1980 CSO mortality tables for use in determining minimum cash values and nonforfeiture benefits for life insurance policies issued in employee benefit plans which, because of the Norris decision, must provide equal benefits to men and women.

Description: Article from The Actuary, December 1983, volume no. 17, issue, no. 10, is a financial summary of the Society of Actuaries during 1982- 1983.

Description: Article from The Actuary, June 1983, volume no. 17, issue no. 6, that highlights since 1981, U.S. federal budget cutbacks have clamped down hard on the federal agencies that produce all kinds of statistics - demographic, economic and regulatory data. Actuaries, who use these federal statistics to develop mortality tables, to produce marketing studies, to examine economic trends, and to study health costs, should work with the federal agencies to restore this data.

Description: The Society’s Committee to Recommend a New Mortality Basis for Individual Annuity Valuation was formed in 1980 at NAIC request because the margins in the 1971 IAM Table had eroded. This article describes the development of the 1983 Table a and shows how well the 1973 Experience Table fits the underlying data.

Description: This subject of this article is the Committee of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics COPAFS, a new organization is being formed with membership composed of associations with an interest in U.S. federal statistics. The Board of Governors of the Society has authorized the Society's participation in COPAFS on a trial basis for one year. In explaining the purpose and role of COPAFS, the article notes that its formation was a result of the recommendations of the March 1978 report of the Joint Ad Hoc Committee on Government Statistics JAHCOGS, The SOA was represented on JAHCOGS by Robert J. Johansen, and he will be the SOA’s representative on COPAFS.

Description: An overview of the formation of the Committee of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics, initiated by the Joint Ad Hoc Committee on Government Statistics, in response to the need for statistical advisory committees to government agencies to promote better data collection and dissemination, contracting, forms clearance, planning, coordination, monitoring, staffing, and strengthening of agency functions.

Description: This is the second of three articles. The first April issue told how the 1973 Experience Table was constructed. Outlined here are two steps: i projecting the values in the 1973 Experience Table to produce the 1983 Basic Table, and ii reducing the 1983 Basic Table q's to arrive at the recommended annuity valuation table called the 1983 Table a.

Description: Book Review: The First Immigrants From Asia, A Population History of the North American Indians. 'Actuaries reading this book will add to both their knowledge of history and of applying common sense judgements to assumptions, results, and conclusions drawn.'

Description: The last of three articles on the 1983 Table a. The first two articles described the steps in contructing the 1973 Experience Table and the 1983 Table a. This article compares the reserves from the 1983 Table a to the 1971 IAM Table at various ages and by gender.

Description: Book review on Standards for Discussion and Presentation of Errors in Survey and Census Data by the American Statistical Association, Washington, D.C., 1975. The material will be of interest to actuaries and of help in preparing their own study reports. The guidelines discuss some relatively simple means of presenting error estimates for published data.