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: Reflections of a Regulatory Actuary by Larry Gorski

Description: The decrease in interest rates over the last several years has led to decreases in the maximum valuation rate and maximum nonforfeiture interest rate, and companies need to prepare for these changes.

Description: The article discusses the developments thus far with the adoption of the NAIC Valuation Manual and what steps still lie ahead. It also discusses the NAIC Life Actuarial Task Force’s response to the NAIC’s VM-20 Impact Study. In general, outcomes of the Phase III testing support the suggestion that the modifications made to VM-20 as a result of the NAIC Impact Study made progress in addressing the excessive conservatism demonstrated in the Phase I and Phase II testing.

Description: This presentation is from session number 25, presented at the 1999 Valuation Actuary Symposium, held September 23-24 in Los Angeles. The panelists discuss Actuarial Guideline XXXIV, which was effective year-end 1998 and addresses reserving for minimum guaranteed death benefits associated with variable annuities, including the requirements of Actuarial Guideline XXXIII. Companies are now offering other guaranteed benefits such as guaranteed living benefits, and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners [NAIC] and the American Academy of Actuaries are working to address reserving for these benefits. The panelists describe the minimum guaranteed benefits in the marketplace and the risks associated with them. Current reserving practices and the latest NAIC and Academy developments are discussed. Discussion from participants is included.

Description: Practical Considerations for Implementing the New Statement of Position for Long Duration Contracts and Separate Accounts .

Description: This article from the Digest of Informal Discussion, Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1955 Volume 7, Number 17, identifies the participants and summarizes their comments. Discussion topics include: whether changes in ordinary insurance mortality are significant enough to consider preparing a more up-to-date mortality table for reserve purposes problems involved in constructing and securing statutory approval of annuity reserve tables with built in mortality improvement factors extent to which differences between current premium rate mortality assumptions and CSO mortality contribute to problems with deficiency reserves and arguments for and against the adoption of a different actuarial basis for deficiency reserves.

Description: Changes to AG 43 and what that might mean for tax purposes. Also, summary of IRS Notice 2016-63 (provides safe harbor tax guidance on use of 2017 CSO tables).

Description: This paper demonstrates that extreme value theory (EVT) can be used as a tool to model policyholder behavior in the extreme tail. This paper applies EVT to the study of variable annuity dynamic lapse behavior in the extreme tail. It illustrates a process whereby a company can fully model policyholder behavior, including the extreme tail, with existing data. No judgment about the extremal behavior is necessary.

Description: Social Security provides financial protection by annuitizing retirement. This is not enough for many. My idea creates an additional annuity via Social Security.