Description: This study was sponsored by the Society of Actuaries Health Section. This paper explores the relative significance of aging as a determinant of financial cost of health care beyond age 50, with particular attention to the effect for ages 65 and older. The paper presents concepts of aging factors and aging curves, which define relative values between ages for utilization or cost of health care services. General conclusions are drawn from Medicare data that utilization and cost differ by age, but that aging factors vary across services and may be less significant at very old ages. The author then turns to the question of measuring the significance of an aging curve assumption and what accuracy is lost in the simpler alternative of a single value across an age range.

Description: Contained in Appendix 4 of the 1987 Valuation Actuary Handbook, this set of articles sets forth the positions of various industry groups with regard to the valuation actuary concept as of January 1987. It consists of four sections: 4.1 – Excerpts from the Report of the Task Force on the Valuation Actuary to the ACLI Board of Directors, August 1986 4.2 – Final Report of the Joint Committee on the Role of the Valuation Actuary in the United States 4.3 – Preliminary Report to NAIC Life & Health Actuarial Task Force from Surplus & Solvency Subcommittee of NAIC Standing Technical Advisory Committee, October 9-10, 1986 and 4.4 – Draft Recommendation 7 – American Academy of Actuaries paper. Views of the American Council of Life Insurance, ‘ACLI,’ the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, ‘NAIC,’ the American Academy of Actuaries, and the Society of Actuaries are all represented. Note that the final report in 4.2 above was adopted in 1984 by the boards of both the Academy and Society, the two organizations represented on the Joint Committee.

Description: The article addresses the safe harbor guidance provided in Notice 2016-63 for 2017 CSO contracts satisfying the section 7702 reasonable mortality requirements

Description: discussion of the ongoing developments in reserving and risk-based capital RBC requirements for variable annuities including stochastic scenario projections

Description: Summary of the Life and Health Actuarial Task Force Meeting held in September, 2003

Description: This article reports the maximum statutory valuation and nonforfeiture interest rates for calendar year 2004 issues of life insurance products and the maximum statutory valuation interest rates for calendar year 2003 issues of annuity products.

Description: Views of several actuarial participants in this lawsuit, regarding new buyer disclosure requirements, were printed in our May Issue. Mr. Murphy spoke for the plaintiffs, whose strongest objection to the disputed Wisconsin Regulation was its omission of the Equivalent Level Annual Dividend from the preliminary policy summary.

Description: A review of a webcast on Sarbanes-Oxley including a brief update on Sarbanes requirements, including some practical aspects of the Sarbanes “life cycle,” including living with Sarbanes beyond implementation.

Description: Recent guidance in the form of Rev. Proc. 2006- 13 provides a general safe harbor for the fair market value of a deferred-annuity contract when determining the amount includible in income on conversion of a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA.