Description: This article Provides a description of an IRS Directive that provides a safe harbor tax reporting position for computing tax reserves for pre-2018 tax years for annuity contracts subject to AG43 and VM-21 and life insurance contracts subject to VM-20 Principal Based Reserves methods. The safe harbor is required to be implemented on the 2017 tax return, with certain spread amounts in some cases to future tax years starting in 2018.

Description: This article describes how different types of regression models used for fund modeling can affect the variable annuity's risk exposure report and attribution report.

Description: A discussion of where insurance companies and their products fit in the retirement asset market and trends over the past few decades. Some historical data on the insurance companies' share of retirement assets is included.

Description: News Direct chairperson's column discussing recent activities, future plans, and the new officers of the Marketing and Distribution Section of the Society of Actuaries.

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 article examines the development of the new Brazilian annuitant mortality table, and explores the current and future effects of this table.

Description: Summary of research project designed to document method to credit interest rates to account value based products. The investment year method (IYM) can theoretically align with investment strategy and be fair to policyholders. These products were designed in the 1980s with guaranteed nominal rates above what is currently accessible so most products credit the guaranteed rate. This paper documents how it could be resurrected during the next interest rate cycle.

Description: Competition for space in distribution channels has resulted in a proliferation of exotic options embedded in variable annuity products. This article discusses how this has created a need which can be addressed, in part, by hedging variable annuity guarantees with long-dated equity derivatives.

Description: This article proposes a new term called the risk surface to enhance risk communications.

Description: discussion of mathematical calculations for various forms of annuities certain