Description: The first preliminary results on international experience studies on mortality and persistency for the pilot countries of Taiwan, Mexico and South Korea are discussed and future expansion of the studies are explained.

Description: This article helps illustrate that a guaranteed income stream in retirement has much more value than merely longevity protection. Used properly, a payout annuity is also a hedge against one's retirement nest egg evaporating, leaving the retiree living check to check on a fixed income only. The article will be of interest to those involved in product development and design, sales and marketing, and payout annuities or guaranteed withdrawal benefits in general.

Description: 1998 Valuation Actuary Symposium. In this teaching session on Equity-Indexed Annuities, the panelists discussed the background and techniques of the NAIC's Guideline ZZZ, what must be done, the market-value-based methods, the book-value method, and ideas regarding making the best overall choice among the methods.

Description: Suicide is one of the ten leading causes of death in the United States and the only one of those causes that is trending in the wrong direction over the last 15 years. This article examines several aspects of suicide in the United States with a focus on its impact on the insurance industry. The findings were compiled from publicly available data through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, from internal RGA data, and also from interviews with topic experts. The article highlights the difference in suicide rates between the general population and the insured population, the proportion of claims from suicide, the spike in suicide rates at the end of the contestability (or exemption period), and current thoughts from counseling experts on prevention. It also demonstrates an increase in suicide rates during times of economic turmoil.

Description: This article presents a discussion of Actuarial Guideline 54 (AG LIV), both the regulatory impetus in its creation as well as the requirements it outlines for a RILA contract to qualify as a variable annuity under the NAIC Variable Annuity Model law and thus be exempt from Fixed Annuity Non-Forfeiture Requirements. Includes an example calculation.

Description: This study covers the following subjects: Mortality during the first 15 years of insurance under standard, medically examined ordinary insurances and mortality during the 16th and later policy years by attained age only for standard ordinary insurance. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1949, Vol. 1, No. 1.

Description: Chapter 7 suggests that there are two general families of hypotheses about the sex mortality differential: constitutional - biologic/genetic, and external - social/cultural/environmental/behavioral. The author gives a thorough review of the literature and studies performed. The conclusion offered is that there are significant biological reasons for the differential, but that these are often masked by environmental factors. From Why Men Die Younger: Causes of Mortality Differences by Sex, M-LI01-1.

Description: This paper investigates the one-asset portfolios, mixed-asset portfolios, and a dynamic investment portfolio which allows a switch from an aggressive portfolio to a conservative one at middle ages.

Description: This paper presents an analysis of the mortality of old-age beneficiaries retired workers aged 65 or over and covers the period 1941-61, based on administrative actions taken through 1962. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1965, Vol. 17, Pt. 1, No. 49.

Description: This paper presents the results of a mortality investigation of the insureds under the old-age and survivors insurance system under the Social Security Act. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1951, Vol. 3, No. 6.