Description: The Retirement Section and Retirement Section Research Committee are pleased to make available a research report examining academic and practitioner research on low interest rates in the United States.

Description: The 2020 Long-Term Care (LTC) Medical Symposium was a two-day conference that extracted the thinking of leading experts on historical and future trends that will influence LTC insurance (LTCI) claim expectations. The symposium focused on the ideas from experts outside of the LTCI industry for the explicit purpose of gathering fresh perspectives on the issues that LTCI companies face, such as expected timing of new claims onset, length of claim, life expectancy and cost of care. The 2020 symposium built on and complemented the first annual symposium held in 2018 and 2019. The focus in 2020 was on aging of the brain and how technology will impact the future of LTC caregiving. The symposium is not intended to quantify historical or future trends or to be prescriptive or specific about long-term care actuarial assumptions. Rather, the symposium aims to provide the long-term care actuary with environmental context for considering morbidity and other macro factors that may impact LTC experience in the long term.

Description: The purpose of this document is to inform the user of the 2022 Health Care Cost Model about the sources of data, other reports, and assumptions which were used to populate this report and drive some of the key considerations.

Description: Feature article discussing futurism and a study that contains in-depth descriptions of the Delphi and TIA methods; listings of the rationales and thought processes, the plausible future developments that could influence the values of these four economic variables and the resulting “fan of possibilities” for the values of these variables

Description: This paper highlights the impact on shareholder equity and AOCI due to the introduction of LDTI during a period of falling interest rates. The paper is intended to provide an example of an analysis that will help actuaries explain the interaction of LDTI and falling interest rates.

Description: This paper is about the use of the table as a vehicle of pedagogic delivery

Description: This article introduces the JRMS library, how one can access it and what books are added this year.

Description: This article introduces the JRMS library, how one can access it and what books are added this year.

Description: This presentation compares continuous-time multi-factor affine cohort mortality models and presents estimation results for an affine multi-factor, multi-cohort mortality model.

Description: The COVID-19 pandemic and its economic effects have resulted in significant insurance impacts. The General Insurance Research Committee (GIRC) of the SOA put forth a call for essays exploring the potential effects on commercial liability insurance. The committee selected this essay, “Evolving Trends in Commercial Liability Insurance,” submitted by Karl Canty and Varun Balutia of EXL, and awarded them a prize of $1,000. The GIRC congratulates the authors and is happy to publish the winning essay on The Actuary website

Description: This paper provides a high-level review of climate models for the actuary and shows they are not impenetrable, intriguing the reader enough to seek out additional resources.

Description: The article discusses the impact of changes made to Internal Revenue Code Section 7702 by the ConsolidatedAppropriations Act, 2021. The Consolidated Appropriations Act made changes to the interest rates used calculatethe Section 7702 premium and cash value funding limitations for life insurance contracts

Description: An essay received in response to the Committee on Post Retirement Needs and Risks Call for Essays exploring ideas and thoughts on working in retirement and phased retirement programs.

Description: A collection of essays received in response to the Committee on Post Retirement Needs and Risks Call for Essays exploring ideas and thoughts on working in retirement and phased retirement programs.

Description: The unprecedented losses associated with recent wildfires are yet another call to insurers to understand how climate change is impacting the landscape of fire hazards. In this report, to further advance understanding of relationship between fire hazard and climate change, for both academic and practitioner communities, we review emerging evidence showing that policies surrounding tree planting are increasingly important for fire hazard insurance. Furthermore, we discuss relevant risk factors and potential mechanisms when accounting for these policies.

Description: Interview with Karen Lockridge, FSA, FCIA and Francisca Quinn regarding fiduciary concerns with and future outlook for Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing.

Description: We summarize some of the developments in corporate sustainability. The guiding principles of corporate sustainability are developed on the global stage, but implementation of these principles necessarily occurs at the individual company level. Our aim is to educate actuaries on the broad principles, point curious readers towards more research, and inspire actions that actuaries can take within their organizations to strengthen the long-term sustainability of the industries that actuaries serve.

Description: The Society of Actuaries Retirement Section is pleased to make available material that addresses the challenges in communicating pension risk to stakeholders.

Description: The Society of Actuaries is pleased to make available a research report that investigates defined benefit retirement plan de-risking activities for U.S.-based companies and the relative impact of various implemented strategies.

Description: Read the November 2020 issue of The Modeling Platform published by the Modeling Section. Newsletters provide practical information for the working actuary, articles on trends that impact sections and news about section activities.

Description: The personal auto insurance industry is constantly changing. There are small and steady changes over time (e.g., inflation affecting the cost of repairs or general progress in the safety of vehicles) and sharp spikes (e.g., disasters and legislation). That change has never been more apparent with the Covid-19 pandemic, civil unrest, and driverless cars all presently having a significant impact on personal auto insurance.

Description: The personal auto insurance industry is constantly changing. There are small and steady changes over time (e.g., inflation affecting the cost of repairs or general progress in the safety of vehicles) and sharp spikes (e.g., disasters and legislation). That change has never been more apparent with the Covid-19 pandemic, civil unrest, and driverless cars all presently having a significant impact on personal auto insurance.

Description: This is A Value-Based Longevity Index for Hedging Retirement Income Portfolios abstract authored by Jonathan Ziveyi, Kevin Krahe, Michael Sherris, Andres M Villegas for Session 1A of the January 13-15, 2020 Living to 100 Symposium in Orlando, Florida.

Description: This is the Quantification and Management of Longevity Risk in China paper authored by Johnny Li, Kenneth Q. Zhou and Wai-Sum Chan for Session 1A of the January 13-15, 2020 Living to 100 Symposium in Orlando, Florida.

Description: The Aging and Retirement Strategic Research Program is pleased to make available a report summarizing the research phase of a multi-phase project leading to publication of a Conversation Guide to plan for changes in financial capacity and decision-making.

Description: Summary in Simplified Chinese

Description: Report Summary in Simplified Chinese.

Description: Read the October 2020 issue of Health Watch published by the Health Section. Newsletters provided practical information for the working actuary, articles on trends that impact sections and news about section activities.

Description: These are the Discussant Comments by Sam Gutterman for the Trends in Life Expectancy and Lifespan Variation After Retirement Session 1B of the January 13-15, 2020 Living to 100 Symposium in Orlando, Florida.

Description: This is the Does Migration Result in Mortality Improvement: A Case Study in Taiwan paper authored by Chih-Kai Chang, Jack C. Yue and Yen-Wen Chen for Session 3B of the January 13-15, 2020 Living to 100 Symposium in Orlando, Florida.

Description: Read the September 2020 issue of The Financial Reporter published by the Financial Reporting Section. Newsletters provide practical information for the working actuary, articles on trends that impact sections and news about section activities.

Description: Read the September 2020 issue of Risks & Rewards published by the Investment Section. Newsletters provide practical information for the working actuary, articles on trends that impact sections and news about section activities.

Description: The objective of this paper is to discuss the factors that affect and should be considered in the development of social discount rates, with a primary focus on social cost-benefit analyses of climate change-related strategies, programs, and investments involving mitigation and ex-ante adaption efforts.

Description: The American Academy of Actuaries will present on current initiatives that impact the U.S. statutory reserving methodology for non-variable annuity contracts. In particular, the development of a principle-based reserving framework on non-variable annuity contracts will be discussed, including framework elements, assumptions, and methodology. The session will provide an update on the status of regulatory discussions and the timeline for future changes to reserves. By the end of the session, attendees will understand what changes are being made to non-variable annuity reserves, details underlying existing proposals, and the anticipated timing of such emerging changes. This session is intended to the meet the needs of actuaries focused on annuity reserve calculations, financial reporting, and valuation.

Description: VA reserve and capital reforms are effective 1/1/20 and the first year of reporting under the new framework requires several key milestones for annuity valuation actuaries to achieve. Discuss key implementation issues, including the new standard projection, optionality around hedge treatment and taxation, discuss disclosure requirements as well as the PBR report requirements. Overall focus on decisions to be taken by a valuation actuary with respect to reporting under the new framework.

Description: Hear from companies & consultants that early adopted VM-21 for year-end 2019. Learn from their experiences in preparing for the significant additional work required for implementation - updating models, assumptions, documentation, etc. Hear about the NAIC review and feedback (if available).

Description: This session will have two sections: General consideration of IFRS17 implementation for VA writers and reinsurers A case study of IFRS17 implementation for a reinsurer The first section will go over VFA and GM approaches that are available for VA writers. Both approaches have their own challenges. We will highlight some of the challenges and how to approach/overcome them. Additionally, we will discuss how hedging/ALM can help smooth the transition. The second section will go over the details of implementation process of a VA reinsurer. The case study will explore valuation challenges unique to reinsurers assuming business that would otherwise be valued under the VFA. It will also go over some of the modeling difficulties, project management, and database requirement.

Description: Read the August 2020 issue of Predictive Analytics and Futurism published by the Predictive Analytics and Futurism Section. Newsletters provide practical information for the working actuary, articles on trends that impact sections and news about section activities.

Description: Overview of the seven trends affecting the Actuarial profession .

Description: Actuaries can empower their understanding of policyholder behavior with third party data. Modeling policyholder behavior should start from developing knowledge of who they are, instead of actuaries assuming what a rational behavior should be.

Description: This report investigates the financial consequences of delaying CPP payments. The intent is to provide a quantitative basis to better inform the take-up decisions of Canadians for whom delaying CPP benefits might provide improved financial outcomes and greater retirement income security.

Description: This is the Demographic Perspectives on the Rise of Longevity paper authored by Marie-Pier Bergeron Boucher, James W. Vaupel and Francisco Villavicencio for Session 4A of the January 13-15, 2020 Living to 100 Symposium in Orlando, Florida.

Description: The COVID-19 pandemic has not simply changed the way we live. It has caused most of us—whether we want to or not—to reassess the way we think and feel about our world. Most in the general public have been looking to political and medical leaders to better understand the implications to health and wealth. Likewise, we as actuaries look to business leaders and key volunteers for their insights into the impact on our profession. We recently conducted a series of interviews with such leaders in the Canadian actuarial profession. This article addresses their insights into the evolving set of skills we need in this rapidly changing world.

Description: The always popular Medicaid Hot Topics session is back with discussions from an expert panel on the most riveting Medicaid topics of the year. These could include the following: • Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Proposed Regulations• Tennessee's Block Grant Proposal• ACA court battles: What are the potential impacts on Medicaid? • Pass-through payments are converting to directed payments: What is changing?• And more current topics of interest to Medicaid actuariesMedicaid is dynamic and it is difficult to stay current on all of the changes. This session provides insightful discussion into the major changes that impact actuaries and their companies or state clients.

Description: Many new and innovative companies are leveraging technology to improve the effectiveness of the care provided to patients. They are employing better tools to identify patients who can benefit from specific programs that best meet the patient's need. They are also dramatically increasing the use of these programs by guiding plan members through the maze of offerings to match them with the programs that will be most beneficial to them. Employers are making these third party programs available to their members and Medicare Plans are using these new tools to identify emerging health risks for early intervention and more accurate risk scoring. This session will explore some examples of these programs, how they are being effectively integrated into the operations of health plans and how the results of these programs are being measured.The speakers will be:Raj Behal, MD, MPH,Chief Quality Officer, One Medical. Raj leads the quality and safety, value and innovation, and data science teams at One Medical. One Medical is changing the way primary care is delivered with a concierge approach with technology seamlessly woven into their offering. This includes booking appointments on line, virtual face to face care, accessible medical records and health reminders.Mylea Charval,Ph.D., CEO and Founder, Savonix. Savonix is a next generation cognitive assessment platform that brings clinical, evidence-based, and all mobile digital assessment of cognitive and emotional function. These capabilities are critical for early identification of the onset of dementia and for the proper risk assessment of seniors enrolled in Medicare Advantage Plans.Ed Cymerys, FSA, Advisor. Ed will serve as moderator. Over the last six years Ed has served as an advisor to a number of early stage technology companies looking to improve the way health benefits are being delivered.Dave Sotelo, FSA, MAAA, Actuarial Manager, Collective Health, Inc. Collective Health is an integrated solution that allows self-funded employers to administer their health plans, control costs, and take care of their people -- all in one place. They have effectively integrated more than 70 distinct third party solutions for self-funded employers and are rigorously assessing the impact of these programs

Description: A collection of essays in response to a call for essays aimed to gather perspectives, opinions and data on how to advance the state of effective retirement planning tools, products, and strategies to assist individuals, financial advisors, employers, and other stakeholders.

Description: There has been significant discussion of PBR for Life Insurance, but there has also been progress in development of PBR for annuities; including VM-21, VM-22, and future VM-23. The presenters will look at the progress in PBR for annuities and what the future may hold.

Description: The presenters in this classic session will explore protection and accumulation products as well discuss the current state of the hybrid Life/LTC market. They will also examine the latest trends and the challenges to innovation and highlight key factors impacting the product actuary including the impact of technology, regulation and competitive environment. 

Description: The presenters will review and discuss the recent trend of FIA and Structured Annuities new product development, illustrate the differences and similarities between these two types of products, and discuss how insurance carriers may effectively manage the capital market risk from derivative hedging perspective. Special emphases will be on (1) the performance of customized FIA indices during the recent economic cycles, relative to benchmark equity indices such as S&P 500, and (2) the latest product designs of Structured Annuities and offering rates by insurance carriers.

Description: This chart provides information for consumers and other audiences on retirement risks and strategies for managing these risks.

Description: Because of its complexity, ensuring the security of cyberspace is one of today’s most significant challenges. As the cyber environment becomes more integrated with the real world, the direct impact of cybersecurity incidents on business is also heightened. This study aims to develop a generic model that can be applied by any organization. For the validation of the developed cyber risk analysis method, simulations and sensitivity analysis will be performed.

Description: This paper analyzes climate change's impact on corn yield and insurance claims in Southern Minnesota through an analysis of how temperature and precipitation are expected to change over the next 30 years.

Description: Winning essays form the Actuarial Practice Innovation Call for Essays.

Description: The 2019 Long-Term Care (LTC) Medical Symposium was a one-day conference that extracted the thinking of leading experts on historical and future trends that will influence LTC insurance (LTCI) claim expectations. The symposium focused on the ideas from experts outside of the LTCI industry for the explicit purpose of gathering fresh perspectives on the issues that LTCI companies face, such as expected timing of new claims onset, length of claim, life expectancy and cost of care. The 2019 symposium built on and complemented the first annual symposium held in 2018. The focus in 2019 was on aging of the brain and how technology will impact the future of LTC caregiving. The symposium is not intended to quantify historical or future trends or to be prescriptive or specific about long-term care actuarial assumptions. Rather, the symposium aims to provide the long-term care actuary with environmental context for considering morbidity and other macro factors that may impact LTC experience in the long term.

Description: Winning essays form the Actuarial Practice Innovation Call for Essays.

Description: Read the April 2020 issue of Risk Management, published by the Joint Risk Management Section. Newsletters provide practical information for the working actuary, articles on trends that impact sections and news about section activities.

Description: Since the outbreak began in January, numerous research groups throughout the world have developed models to forecast the number of deaths that could result from COVID-19. Updated April 24, 2020.

Description: Read the April 2020 issue of The Modeling Platform, published by the Modeling Section. Newsletters provide practical information for the working actuary, articles on trends that impact sections and news about section activities.

Description: Read the April 2020 issue of Product Matters! published by the Product Development Section. Newsletters provide practical information for the working actuary, articles on trends that impact sections and news about section activities.

Description: Read the April 2020 issue of Long-Term Care News published by the Long Term Care Insurance Section. Newsletters provide practical information for the working actuary, articles on trends that impact sections and news about section activities.

Description: Since the outbreak began in January, numerous research groups throughout the world have developed models to forecast the number of deaths that could result from COVID-19.

Description: Targeted Improvements provides a strong impetus for commitment by management to develop and maintain a set of appropriate assumptions. As even the best of assumptions will take time to season, the sooner the improvements in assumptions are made, the quicker the goal of stabilized earnings can be realized.

Description: April 2020 issue of The Stepping Stone by Leadership & Development Section. practical information for actuaries, trends that impact section, section activities

Description: 2020 Student Research Case Study Challenge submission

Description: Papers: Multi-Population Longevity Models: A Spatial Random Field Approach– Nhan Huynh, Mike Ludkovski, Ph.D. - University of California at Santa Barbara, Howard Zail - Elucider, LLC. The Application of Affine Processes in Cohort Mortality Risk Models – Zhiping Huang, Michael Sherris, FSA, FIAA, FIA, Andres M. Villegas Ramirez, Ph.D., Jonathan Ziveyi, Ph.D. - UNSW Australia

Description: Companies exempt from PBR can benefit by borrowing ideas and lessons learned from companies that perform and operate in a PBR world. The presenters will discuss VM requirements related to governance policies, as well as assumption and margin setting, plus model validations and controls which can benefit smaller insurance companies. Attendees will learn about new actuarial practices and how the PBR methodology and Valuation Manual can influence their work and highlight available resources.

Description: Retirement market study of Brazil in English

Description: Read the March 2020 issue of In The Public Interest published by the Social Insurance & Public Finance Section. Newsletters provide practical information for the working actuary, articles on trends that impact sections and news about section activities.

Description: Results of the PBITT Working Group annual Variable Annuity Survey.

Description: Read the February 2020 issue of Retirement Section News published by the Retirement Section. Newsletters provide practical information for the working actuary, articles on trends that impact sections and news about section activities.

Description: Technology is transforming the retirement space and more changes are expected in the future. Join a panel of experts to discuss what are the opportunities, trends and challenges associated with new technologies in the retirement landscape and how it is expected to impact consumers, if we can enable their successful integration.

Description: Over the last few years, many direct companies have started inforce management programs and are now navigating what actions can be taken to optimize the business. At the same time, the legal, compliance, and regulatory environments are also changing. The presenters will explore the development and implementation of programs such as changing non-guaranteed elements or efforts to improve experience while considering the changing compliance environment, including New York Regulation 210, ASOP2 and litigation challenges.

Description: Digital is the main reason over half of the companies on the Fortune 500 have disappeared since 2000." (CEO Accenture). We cannot be sure how global technology megatrends will disrupt the life insurance industry, but we can be certain that the future will not look like today. As large quantities of available data are no longer owned by insurance companies and statistical techniques become more accessible to non-statisticians, the pressure to keep up with technological advancement increases. Life actuaries must think critically about and be prepared for the coming changes and position themselves as leaders in an industry lagging behind in new technology adoption.

Description: The insurance industry has a lot to learn from academia's missteps. With predictive analytics assuming an ever-expanding role in risk modeling, carriers would be well-served to establish practices that mitigate the creation of faulty models. Hear practical advice on how to mitigate the risks of overfitting, with a focus on how to translate complex policyholder behavior experience data for long-term products into behavioral models using company- and industry-level data.