Description: Impact of low and negative interest rates on various aspects of insurer operations including product management, investment management and capital management.

Description: A new mortality valuation standard, the 1994 Group Annuity Reserve Table, is being proposed for new group pension business. This article discusses the industry concerns with the change from a static table to a generational table based upon mortality improvement factors.

Description: Performance measurement is not the primary purpose of either GAAP or statutory accounting. This article discusses alternative methods of reporting used by life insurance companies to better measure financial performance.

Description: This article discusses capital market cycles, specifically considering whether or not 2008 was a good time to buy. It concludes that “stocks have likely only recently entered the buying opportunity range on an aggregate basis. However, from a psychological and risk management perspective, we should strongly consider that stock prices will revert beyond the mean for many years, perhaps even decades, before they get better.”

Description: On June 26, 2013, the Supreme Court released its decision in the case of United States v. Windsor, Executor of the Estate of Spyer, et al. addressing the constitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”). This article explores the implications for life insurance and annuity contract spousal provisions that are governed by federal law.

Description: Many Americans will need long term care in future years, yet only 10 percent of those 50 and over have LTC insurance, and public programs are not funded to provide care for all who need it. The Long Term Care Section and the Forecasting and Futurism Section have co-sponsored a Delphi study, code named “Land This Plane,” with a lofty objective: to create a vision for how America ought to deal with the impending Long Term Care crisis. This article describes the results of the study that were available at the time this article was written.

Description: The article discusses what actuaries mean by "acting in the public interest." While the article is focused on the U.S. environment, it includes materials describing how other actuarial organizations are addressing this critical issue. The article concludes with observations that explaining to the public what the actuarial profession means by "acting in the public interest" is important for both the public and the members of the U.S. actuarial profession.

Description: Discusses preparations needed, and risks of not preparing, for the Year 2000.

Description: Discussion of Forecast 2000, the actuarial profession's public relations program.