Description: This meeting session, which occurred at the April 1982 Society of Actuaries meeting in Orlando, presented a discussion of U.S. Social Security issues. Questions discussed included: 1. What is the financial status of the Social Security program? 2. What changes have been recently adopted and what changes have been proposed? 3. How would these changes affect the private pension system costs and plan design? 4. What is the proper role of the actuarial profession regarding the Social Security program? Included discussion of the paper, Constant Replacement Ratios in Retirement: A Theoretical Approach,' by Barnet N. Berin and Anthony B. Richter.

Description: A consideration of the issues involved in adding long-term care provisions to the social security system in France, and how the conditions differ from those in the U.S.

Description: The chairperson reports on Health Section activities: papers by the joint workgroups with the AAA's Health Practice Council to inform the public and congressional staff, papers on capital requirements under proposed health care reform and on proposed taxing of Cadillac plans, new research on IBNR reserving methods and on measuring the quality and efficiency of health care delivery systems.

Description: The Society of Actuaries SOA developed the ‘Risks and Process of Retirement Survey Report’ to help identify retirement risks and raise awareness of approaches to manage those risks. The survey analyzes the leading retirement risks of men and women, ages 45 to 80, who are either retired or still in the workforce. This document provides a summary of the results and provides information on how to obtain the Survey Report’s summary or a full report.

Description: This article talks about the challenges facing the FDA, especially those arising from the globalization of the pharmaceutical supply chain.

Description: Report on the second in a series of studies conducted jointly by LIMRA International and the SOA Long-Term Care Experience Committee. The study examines longterm care insurance LTCI industry persistency experience by reporting on changes in both voluntary lapse and total termination activity for all participating companies during calendar years 2002 through 2004. Overall, the results indicate that LTCI persistency continues to increase. However, recent increases have occurred on the group side of the business more than the individual side.

Description: Report on the first study conducted jointly by LIMRA International and the SOA Long Term Care Experience Committee. The study examines voluntary lapse and total termination activity in LTCI for calendar years 2000 and 2001. Overall, the results indicate that LTCI persistency has continued to improve however, the current improvement seems to be coming from the individual lines of business rather than the group lines.

Description: Research report sponsored by SOA to model and compare projected costs of different proposals for a Medicare prescription drug coverage plan. 3 types of costs are studied: net benefit cost estimates per member per month, continuance table data, and projected annual costs to the government over 10 years for two selected plan designs.

Description: This article reviews the experience and restructuring that has taken place in the life insurance industry since the Asian economic crisis reached Korea. It also discusses the recent trends of the life insurance industry.

Description: Feature article discussing the purpose of the SOA’s Reinsurance Section’s LEARN initiative.