Description: This presentation is a concurrent session from the 1980 Annual Meeting of the Society of Actuaries, held October 20-22 in Montreal. This session was arranged by the American Statistical Association, ‘ASA,’ and the five panelists are biostatisticians, the moderator being the sole actuary. It is the result of efforts by the ASA and SOA to work together and provide sessions at each other’s meetings. The panelists discuss specialized techniques developed for making greater use of noninsurance studies such as medical follow-ups and clinical trial analyses, which may, because of their nature, involve relatively small groups, and compare them with the more traditional actuarial methodology. Discussion from participants is included. From the Record of Society of Actuaries, Volume 6, No. 4.

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: This session is about the methods of projecting long-run stock returns using inflation rates from bond yield curves with incremental returns for risk taking based on historical data and the relationship between concurrent, expected and unexpected inflation rates and the rates of return on common stocks and U.S. government bonds and notes. From Record of Society of Actuaries Vol. 5, No. 4.

Description: This session is about the major factors affecting economic growth in the next five to ten years with major focus on expected population shifts, labor force growth, productivity movement, inflation factors and major components of demand and the outlook for 1980 for wages and prices, and describes how that outlook could be affected by various government policies. An assessment will be provided of the inflation outlook for the decade of the 1980's. From Record of Society of Actuaries Vol. 5, No. 4.

Description: This section contains reviews for the following books, Introduction to the Mathematics of Demography by Robert Brown, A Tale of Two Captains by John Baynes and Hugh Maclean, Abolitionist, Actuary, Atheist: Elizur Wright and the Reform Impulse by Lawrence Goodheart, The Federal Data Base Finder by Matthew Lesko and the Guardian Life Insurance Company, 1860-1920, A History of a German-American Enterprise by Anita Rapone. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1991, Vol. 43.

Description: This section presents book reviews and summarizes recent publications on subjects that include U.K. social insurance, financing of hospital care, state examinations of life companies, approximate valuation of life and health insurance, mortality forecasting, and valuing estate tax.

Description: This panel discussion session presents social indicators using a variety of statistical approaches and relates them to societal changes. The concept of using mortality data as a social indicator is also discussed.

Description: Book reviews and summaries on a variety of subjects

Description: This paper presents considerably detailed death rates according to smoking habits and health status, based on the American Cancer Society Cancer Prevention Study I, which constitutes the largest body of data currently available for the study of smoking habits. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1987, Vol. 39.

Description: This study of mortality on deferred Variable annuities over the period 1991-1995 was designed to test the adequacy of the 1994 MGDB Valuation Mortality Table to cover presumed extra mortality on Variable annuities VAs with Substantial Minimum Guaranteed Death Benefits MGDBs as compared with VAs with Minimal MGDBs. A parallel study of Fixed Annuity experience was carried out as a control. Expected deaths were computed also on the Annuity 2000 Table. The results raise questions as to its continuing safety as a valuation table for individual annuities. The study also shows that mortality levels on Qualified NonPension Trust business are significantly lower than on Nonqualified business.