Description: This article addresses the difficulties of risk modeling in a poor economic environment. The problems include imperfect vendors of data, facing events that have never occurred before, unpredictable consumer behavior, conflicting data sources, and AAA credit doesn't always mean AAA.

Description: Many retirement actuaries have experience developing, implementing, and monitoring Liability Driven Investing (LDI) strategies for plan sponsors. These strategies typically involve modifying a plan’s investment strategy to remove a significant portion of the investment and interest rate risk now or at some point in the future when specific triggers are met. The tactics often involve the use of fixed income assets to cash flow and/or duration match the liabilities. In the spirit of helping actuaries expand their roles in an evolving defined contribution world, this article explores the application of LDI and derisking strategies within defined contribution and individual retirement accounts. The economic theory behind this approach is called the lifecycle hypothesis, or lifecycle finance. The benefits of the lifecycle finance method are that it provides a safe approach to save for retirement and a secure source of floor income during retirement. Similar to pension plans, each individual has his or her own idiosyncratic needs, wants, and risks that should be considered. Actuaries are uniquely situated to help defined contribution plan sponsors, individuals, and even themselves implement the lifecycle finance approach by developing and distributing tools and methods that focus on income (rather than wealth), LDI strategies, and personalization.

Description: Panelists discuss a new actuarial textbook. Addressed are the rationale for the book, layout, and some practical applications of financial economics in an insurance or annuities context. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Vol. 23, No. 2.

Description: In 1971, a group of New York actuaries met informally with socio-economist, Edith Lynton, and heard some grim forebodings about how the larger economic problems affect the insurance industry.

Description: Falling equity markets and interest rates have devastated pension plans worldwide during the past several years. The Standard & Poor’s 500 companies enjoyed a collective pension surplus of $252 billion in 1999. Even after the 2003 market rally, they face a deficit of $179 billion in 2003 Bianco 2003. These events have spotlighted the weakness of current funding and investment practices for corporate defined benefit pension plans. This article presents a case for securing all accrued benefits through “Full Funding.”

Description: Exam FM/2 sample questions for Derivatives Markets textbook.

Description: This session from the 1984 SOA Atlanta Meeting concerns the report from the General Accounting Office pertaining to the economic impact of Unisex Rating, the net costs associated with the transfer of costs because of unisex rating, possible insolvencies of life insurance companies and administrative costs.

Description: Suspension of 30-year Treasury auctions will have minimal impact on bond market structure in the near term, but over the mid- to long-term, consequences could be profound. This article discusses that impact the suspension of the 30-year treasury will have.

Description: This session from the 1995 SOA Boston Meeting discusses the current economic situation, demographics and insurance market in other countries. The discussion addresses such issues as the changes in laws and regulations, the economic climate, cultural environments, and other factors affecting insurance. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Vol. 21, No. 4b.

Description: This paper examines the Federal Housing Administration's [FHA] historical termination data on individual single family mortgages. These FHA data can be used to help understand recent past experience as well as to forecast future experience.