Description: Article from The Actuary, April 1983, volume no. 17, issue no. 4, that highlights what the actuarial pioneers were like. One major characteristic is that, unlike most of us, many brought with them the stamp of previous business or professional experience they had had before becoming actuaries.

Description: This is an editorial about what to charge retirees for meetings. In general, the Society’s treatment of its retired members is enlightened and humane. The dues waiver system had been adopted long ago. The new question of the meeting charge for retirees has now been raised.

Description: Advocates promoting the savings aspects of cash value life insurance products.

Description: This article draws attention to the competition for the Boleslaw Monic Prize. Prizes totalling Dutch florins 12,500, roughly US$4,500 are being offered for the three best papers submitted on: “The significance of inflation for the non-life insurance industry, with particular reference to the relationship between direct insurance and reinsurance the problems facing management and a suggested methodology for their solution.”

Description: This article shows a comparison of the growth rates of the S&P 500 common stock index vs. the U.S. Consumer Price Index over various 5 and 10 year periods.

Description: Arthur Pedoe Obituary: Summary of many essays Mr. Pedoe published on a variety of topics dealing with the actuarial profession

Description: This editorial notes that a letter, appearing in this issue of The Actuary,’ may not be alone in maintaining that the vagaries of our regulatory system handicap companies to the point that United States policyholders get poorer value for their premium dollar than do those in other countries.’ The article goes on to discuss guaranteed surrender values, the state regulatory system in the U.S and other topics in addressing this question.

Description: Peter G. Moore, Reason By Numbers. Peter Moore looks at the ways of gathering, presenting and interpreting information and explains the essential arithmetic of resource allocation, planning and decision theory.

Description: This article discusses key excerpts from testimony in June and July 1981 by James R.Swenson, Chairman of the Academy’s Committee on Social Insurance, to the Senate Special Committee on Aging, and to the Senate Subcommittee on Social Security. The testimony recommended that the long term problems of Social Security be addressed at the same time as the short term imbalances, that benefits be adjusted to affordable levels e.g. gradual increase in retirement age, that more attention be paid to pessimistic actuarial projections, that the actuaries be given more latitude in selecting assumptions, and that the law be amended to require actuarial certifications for Social Security.

Description: This article is about war mortality from an 1859 copy of The Spectator, by the Institute of Actuaries, J.I.A. 8 1859, 268-284.