Description: Examines Notice 2016-39 on phased retirement payments from defined benefit plans and its inapplicability to non-qualified annuities under Rev. Proc. 2016-36

Description: Three papers use sophisticated actuarial methods to develop a straightforward retirement income strategy that can be implemented in virtually any IRA or 401(k).

Description: Outlines a collective structure that can be used to convert a lump sum payout into a lifetime income stream, with a 2% COLA that is contingent on funded status and with a smoothed pricing for the annuity conversion factor.

Description: This paper first discusses the history of the legislation of the joint and survivor benefits for the uniformed service personnel. It then goes on to address the specific actuarial assumptions made and the formulas developed for applying these assumptions for adaptability to the UNIVAC. This paper closes with specific programming procedures involved in using the UNIVAC.

Description: This article is part of the Digest of Informal Discussion, which took place at the 1955 Society of Actuaries Eastern Spring Meeting, held March 24-25 in New York City. The article identifies the participants and summarizes each person’s comments. The participants discuss a 1954 Committee Report on annuitant mortality, and ask if the present bases and valuation standards for individual annuities and settlement options are satisfactory, in light of improving annuitant mortality. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1955 Volume 7, Number 18.

Description: The article analyzes Private Letter Ruling 202031008, which considers how Internal Revenue Code sections 72(q) and (u) apply to an annuity contract issued to a trust. In particular, the Ruling interprets the terms “taxpayer,” “holder” and “held by” in those Code sections in situations where a non-qualified deferred annuity contract is issued to a grantor trust or a non-grantor trust. The Ruling’s analysis and conclusions differ in some respects depending on which of these types of trusts is involved. In addition, although the Ruling does not address sections 72(s) or 72(e)(4)(C), the Ruling has potential implications under those provisions because they also use the term “holder” and “holds,” respectively.

Description: VM-22 was first introduced into the Valuation Manual in 2018. A number of changes have been made since its introduction, with more expected on the way. This article compares valuation requirements for income annuities pre- and post-VM-22, discusses technical and implementation implications with regards to VM-22 (including comparison with New York Regulation 213), and considers future revisions.

Description: This paper applies the research in Prospect Theory of Kahneman and Tversky to explain why sales of annuities lag sales of life insurance products. The author theorizes that life insurance is easier to sell because customers perceive themselves to be in the domain of losses, while potential annuity customers perceive themselves to be in the domain of gains. Kahneman and Tversky showed us that people are mostly risk averse in the domain of gains and risk seeking in the domain of losses. Purchase of an annuity or life product is a risky investment. Customers will find it easier to take the risk in the life insurance domain of losses than the annuity domain of gains. The author then proposes a hybrid life annuity product that might address both mortality and longevity risk in one product that would allow both products to be more competitive than stand-alone products.

Description: Article from The Actuary October 1992 – Volume 26, No. 08 is a mathematical illustration about amortized life annuities.

Description: This article describes the attempt to discover a product for the elderly already receiving long term care, which focused on impaired annuities, and finding the appropriate distribution options.