Description: The pension risk transfer (PRT) market has increasingly expanded to include the complexity of deferred participants who have additional options that do not exist for a retiree already receiving their benefit. Assumptions on the timing of benefit commencement and form of payment elected are highly dependent on specific pension plan provisions and the census population. These assumptions can have significant impact on the reserves and cash flows affecting not only the initial price but the future profitability of the deal and require a balance of both pension experience and annuity pricing. Learn about considerations for assumptions fit for purpose from pension actuaries working in the PRT market and who specialize in the assumption setting process for deferred lives.

Description: Discuss policyholder behaviors that evolve throughout the life cycle of a typical VA annuitant, with supporting data from industry-level experience studies during this interaction session. The following behavior assumptions and their implication under accounting/regulatory requirements will be covered: - Separate account/fixed account allocation and transfers - Deposits - Surrenders - Withdrawals - Income utilization - Mortality By attending the session, you will: - Identify policyholder behaviors that would transform at different stages of life cycle. - Understand key aspects of industry-level policyholder behavior experience. - Form a dynamic view in the assumption setting.

Description: Required Minimum Distributions are the minimum amounts that a retiree must withdraw from their qualified pensions. The Secure Act made major changes to the rules surrounding RMDs, updating the Life Expectancy and Distribution Period Tables. In this joint-sponsored session of the Retirement and Taxation sections, the changes in these rules will be discussed. Focus on their impact to the retirees, the amount and timing of their distributions, and the retiree's potential tax ramifications.

Description: The Society of Actuaries, in conjunction with the Canadian Institute of Actuaries, recently commissioned a research project on Benefits at Risk and Jean-Francois Begin is conducting the research. Prepare to review Professor Begin's findings and review other work related to determining capital adequacy for benefits payable in non-insured pension payout schemes. This session will be of interest to actuaries working with non-insured defined contribution solutions and to actuaries working in trusteed defined benefit pension plans.

Description: With the persistent low interest rate environment, fast pace of regulatory changes and the size of insurers' back-books relative to new business, it is no surprise that insurers have become increasingly focused on their management of non-guaranteed elements ('NGE') for life and annuity business. Come explore the opportunities and challenges offered by NGE management, with consideration for market trends, regulation, the new ASOP 2 and emerging case law.

Description: A. Discusssion of the practical considerations involved in deciding whether or not to adopt projected mortality rates in connection with individual annuities, settlement options, retirement income policies, and the various forms of group annuities. B. In view of increased administrative expenses, discussion of the arguments for and against imposing limitations on the granting of settlement options with respect to size of policy, including the practicality of providing for the expense of administering supplementary contracts other than through the use of conservative mortality and interest assumptions.

Description: These are discussion papers on the paper, 'The ELAS Life Income Mortality Table' by Harry Walker. That paper describes the derivation of the ELAS Life Income Mortality Table, which has been adopted by the Equitable Life Assurance Society as the mortality basis for the life income option of the modes of settlement in its current series of policy forms and for the calculation of premiums under currently issued individual deferred annuity contracts.

Description: This guide is intended to provide a broad introduction to several performance-oriented products. It distinguishes variable 'equity-linked' life insurance, universal life 'flexible payment and current fixed yields', variable universal life, and current developments in variable annuities 'primarily minimum death benefits'.

Description: These products effectively provide policyholders access to an equity index with an option pass-through. This new direction blurs the line between more traditional variable annuity and fixed indexed annuity products. This session will discuss these and other similar product innovations, including some interesting regulatory, accounting, and risk management considerations.

Description: We devise an approach, using tobit models for modeling annuity lapse rates. The approach is based on data provided by the Society of Actuaries’ Risk Management Task Force. Kim [2005a] models annuity lapse rates using a logit model and the same US data (he also used Korean data separately). We find that the tobit model is a more than suitable approach for all levels of the explanatory variables including interest rates, unemployment rates, and GDP growth rates. Specifically, policyholder behavior in the tail of the distribution of lapse rates is explained as well as it is in the normal range of lapse rates.