Description: Results and discussion of a survey of FAS 87 Assumptions employed for non- USA defined benefit plans as of 12/31/1996

Description: This article is the first of a two-part series on international developments. It discusses the actuarial focus on application of risk expertise to insurance and pensions vs. the newly developing focus on enterprise risk management.

Description: Understanding U.S. defined-benefit plan annual funding notice definitions and what they are meant to represent is a key to understanding how “healthy” or “unhealthy” a pension plan is. This article offers a description of several types of funded status measurements and their applications under the rules mandated by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service to fund private employer-sponsored defined-benefit pension plans.

Description: Background on IACA and its activities.

Description: Purchase accounting for insurance business combinations under China-GAAP from an actuarial perspective

Description: This is a story of a small insurance company in Argentina “David” that attempted to determine optimal retention levels and the cost of different reinsurance programs by using actuarial techniques.

Description: Highlights of the 1997 International Underwriting Congress with an in depth discussion of 1 critical illness policies and 2 Use of population data where little insurance data exists.

Description: Provides some background on the new regulation, 'The Administrative Measures on Enterprise Annuity Fund', and comments on key issues this poses for corporate pension plans.

Description: New Zealand is about to launch its first variable annuity with guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefits. The product design is mindful of the lessons from the financial crisis in the United States, Europe and Japan.

Description: This article discusses the global capital standards for Global Systemically Important Insurers (G-SIIs) and Internationally Active Insurance Groups (IAIGs) currently being developed by the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS).