Description: Through a review of legislative and policy provisions, this paper highlights national differences in retirement policy and identifies alternative retirement policy strategies. The countries studied are France, Germany, Japan, Sweden, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the U.S. In addition to the traditional tools of retirement policy, normal, deferred and early retirement, other areas of policy with a potential impact on retirement are studied. Data on retirement experience also are presented and discussed. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1993, Vol. 45.

Description: Announcement of this competition for articles about any non-U.S. topic or topics, with entrant rules. The deadline is May 18, 2012.

Description: This presentation, session number 91F, took place at the 1999 Spring Meeting of the Society of Actuaries, held May 24-25 in Atlanta. The panelists discuss questions raised by the intent of several U.S. and Canadian insurers to reorganize, within permitted regulations, to access capital and further their companies’ growth. The discussion looks at considerations for domestic and multinational insurers based in other countries, including regulatory matters. Discussion from participants is included. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Vol. 25, No. 1.

Description: In this paper, we investigate the dynamics of the Lee-Carter mortality index parameter kt. Specifically, we perform statistical hypothesis tests to examine whether the mortality indexes for Canada, England and Wales and the United States are best described by stochastic trends difference stationary models or deterministic trends trend stationary models. The empirical results favor broken-trend stationary models over difference stationary models, which are used in most previous applications of the Lee-Carter method. The results also give strong statistical evidence that the rates of mortality decline for the three populations have significantly accelerated in mid-1970s.

Description: This article is a summary of a paper called Valuation of Final-Salary Pension Schemes by R. B. Colbran, F.I.A. submitted to the Institute of Actuaries in London last April. It includes a review of major ways in which United Kingdom and North American actuaries differ in their approaches of valuing these plans.

Description: This presentation is a Teaching Session, number 29TS, from the 2002 Valuation Actuary Symposium, held September 19-20 in Lake Buena Vista, FL. The panelists describe the three basic types of credit derivatives: total return swaps, credit default swaps, and credit spread options. They discuss techniques used to price credit derivatives, accounting and required capital treatment, the size and growth of the credit derivative market in the U.S., Canada, and globally, and early experience and performance of credit derivatives in an actual default case. Discussion from participants is included.

Description: The International Experience Survey/Study IES is a pilot study being conducted by the Society of Actuaries to provide actuaries with practical information on experience in emerging and other markets outside of the United States and Canada. The IES has evolved from being a survey of multi-national company experience to national studies directed by actuaries from the data contributors located in the country under study. This report follows this evolution by dividing results into two major subdivisions of results: • Survey: The survey presents high-level results that facilitate comparisons of experience between different countries. • National studies: In depth studies of experience in countries directed by local actuaries to present more comprehensive results

Description: In this article, the outgoing chairperson recaps his year in office.

Description: Newsletter editor discusses new features in this issue.

Description: The editor discusses the winner of this year's Country Feature Competition, highlights of the International Congress of Actuaries meeting in Cape Town, the expanded Ambassador's Corner and encourages all to vote for the SOA leadership.