Description: Read the August 2017 issue of In The Public Interest published by the Social Insurance & Public Finance Section.

Description: The Society of Actuaries (SOA) and the LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute are pleased to present the results of new research on the retirement market in China.

Description: Update on IASB Activities during the last quarter of 2016.

Description: The article discusses the sustainability of the ACA individual market from a public entitlement standpoint. A key point of measuring sustainability is the reliance on market forces rather than federal budget constraints. The article explains why an actuarial viewpoint of sustainability is necessary to a greater extent than other public assistance and social insurance programs. The article challenges actuaries to be a bold, objective voice in a space that is full of opinionated but often uninformed viewpoints.

Description: Challenge to actuarial business as usual in re public pension plans with a focus on setting actuarial standards of practice

Description: Congress once again turns to defined benefit pension plans as a misguided source for financing programs that have nothing to do with retirement.

Description: Developing a formal strategy to guide the SOA’s activities with respect to public policy-related topics is underway. Recent experience shows that non-partisan contributions through the SOA’s research are already adding value to important public policy discussions.

Description: This article consists of a point-counterpoint dialogue addressing important aspects of social insurance programs. It discusses the desirability and advantages of these programs that provide financial assistance to those who are retired, disabled, ill or unemployed.

Description: A proposal to reform current health care market, from a 'preferred payer' system, in which Medicare and Medicaid pay less than the true cost while others must then pay more, to a 'value for money' system. This would be achieved by requiring providers to bill all patients the same rate for the same services, with a standard bundling format to make all providers' rate differences transparent. Differences between billed charges and what Medicare pays would be made up by the Medicare patient, rather than subsidized by those outside of Medicare.

Description: Over the past year the actuarial profession, led by the Society of Actuaries, has taken a step back to review the role of the actuary in today’s global economy. In doing so, the actuarial profession has decided to reposition the “actuary brand.”

Description: Reflections of a Regulatory Actuary by Larry Gorski

Description: From a session at the 2000 Valuation Actuary Symposium held in Washington DC, September 14-15, 2000 A panel of regulators share their perspectives on valuation actuary issues and relationships with valuation actuaries and professional and industry associations.

Description: Presentation at May 1996 Spring Meeting. This panel discussion covers emerging issues in Canadian financial reporting for life insurance companies: new consolidated standards of practice, future financial condition opinion, disclosure of financial information.

Description: Presented at September 1995 Valuation Actuary Symposium. This session will go over the confusing reconciliation requirements which appointed actuaries have to comply with before signing off on the actuarial opinion.

Description: Presented at September 1995 Valuation Actuary Symposium. A distinguished panel of experts and a host of interesting and timely questions regarding financial reporting and valuation actuaries.

Description: The Society of Actuaries, the SOA Pension Section, the Conference of Consulting Actuaries and the American Society of Pension Actuaries are contributing funds in support of efforts to get the actuarial profession more involved in modeling that addresses national retirement income policy and health care reform. The first project will be a feasibility study to analyze each major existing database/model and investigate whether it would be practical to access it or to extend it into a new macrodemographic model.

Description: In this “nontraditional” general session from the 1991 Annual Meeting of the Society of Actuaries, held October 20-23 in Toronto, the panelists, a “judge,” a “defendant,” and a “prosecutor” present a humorous “trial” to explore what the boundaries of “traditional” actuarial work are. A theme of the session is that some of what we call “nontraditional” is an expansion of traditional actuarial work, and that we owe it to our public to broaden our horizons. Discussion from participants is included. From the Record of Society of Actuaries, Volume 17, No. 4A.

Description: This presentation is a panel discussion from the 1991 Annual Meeting of the Society of Actuaries, held October 20-23 in Toronto. The panelists discuss the duties and responsibilities of appointed actuaries, including compliance with qualification standards and actuarial standards of practice. They discuss the United States, where new regulations were recently adopted by the National Association of insurance Commissioners [NAIC], developments in Canada, where new legislation is expected to pass, and also world practice, looking at Europe and the U.K. Discussion from participants is included. From the Record of Society of Actuaries, Volume 17, No. 4B.

Description: This presentation is an open forum from the 1991 Annual Meeting of the Society of Actuaries, held October 20-23 in Toronto. The panelists discuss the current public image of the life insurance industry, and whether life insurers meet or are able to meet public expectations. They examine the differences between the public’s outside view and the actuary's view from the inside, how they differ, and what the actuary can do to improve the industry’s image, as an educator and communicator. Discussion from participants is included. From the Record of Society of Actuaries, Volume 17, No. 4B.

Description: 1987 Valuation Actuary Handbook: Chapter 1: Addresses life insurance company statutory reserve valuation.

Description: Presented at October 1985 Annual Meeting. This session discussion is about status of the revision of Recommendation 7, status of the Special Advisory Committee to the NAIC, principles for the valuation of life insurance companies, practical aspects of asset-liability matching.

Description: Presented at October 1985 Annual Meeting. Discusses fifty years of Social Security and the role of actuaries, recruitment sources and problems, remuneration, functions of actuarial staff, problems of staff retention, political pressures, opportunities to influence national legislation.

Description: Presented at May 1985 Spring Meeting. Discusses: Statutory annual statement, Statement of actuarial opinion for interest-indexed universal life insurance, American Academy of Actuaries Financial Reporting Recommendation 7, Statement of opinion required by New York State for annuity products, Other required statements of actuarial opinion, The Valuation Actuary, Practical techniques and actual experiences.

Description: From the 1985 Valuation Actuary Symposium A perspective on the role of the valuation actuary and how it has and will change in the USA, Canada, and the UK.

Description: Discussion of the attitudes of consumers and consumerists regarding the life insurance industry and its products and a discussion of opportunities for improvement Topics include: 1. Disclosure to existing policyholders 2. Policy loan problems, including the policy replacement problem 3. dividend determination practices and 4. deceptive sales practices in the llfe insurance business.

Description: On May 16th, the Social Security Boards of Trustees sent to the Congress the three annual reports OASDI, HI, and SMI. These reports present cost projections similar to those provided to the Congress last year at the time of enactment of the 1977 Amendments.

Description: This 1978 session focused on education for the profession and expanding roles of the actuary. Topics include i. Education for an expanding actuarial profession.2. Expanding the actuary's role in life, property and liability insurance From Record of Society of Actuaries, Vol. 4, No. 1.

Description: Presentation of proposals that are designed to further improve actuarial education by anticipating educational needs based on future change in the nature of actuarial work. The paper is divided into three sections: I. Current and Past Education of Actuaries II. Actuaries as Customers for Education and III. The Future Educational Needs of Actuaries and How These Needs Might Be Implemented. Followed by several submitted discussion papers.

Description: From the 1960 Transactions Vol. 12 No. 33, this ‘Digest of Informal Discussion’ took place at the 1960 Eastern Spring Meeting of the Society of Actuaries, held in Washington, D.C. March 24-25. The focus of the discussion was on the function of the actuary and the insurance company’s public relations, and what the actuary is doing and can do further to improve relations between insurance companies and the public.