Description: There will be no easy resolution to the current trade friction between the U.S. and China. If anything, the motivations for increasing protectionism are set to intensify. What are these motivations? Where is this trade war headed? And what impact could this have on economies and financial markets?

Description: The SOA Reinsurance Research Section is seeking proposals on Mortality Improvement Independ – Independent Analysis. Mortality improvement is an important assumption for projecting future liability cashflows and has a material financial impact on a company. Mortality improvement is a hot topic in the industry and companies show significant interest in understanding the key factors that differentiate mortality improvement. The focus of this research is to gain a better understanding of the main drivers of mortality improvement:

Description: Summary of panel discussion on Social Security. Examines the developments and outlook concerning the President's recommendations to Congress for the U.S. OASI system, including extension of coverage, need to increase both the tax rate and taxable wage levels, and liberalization of benefit formula. Also looks at the current developments in Canada.

Description: Retirement benefits, including health benefits, are increasingly being delivered through a DC structure. The presenters will explore how benefits are delivered and utilized, including consideration of tax implications and ordering. DC plan benefits in both the U.S. and Canada will be discussed.

Description: This research report on the ability to influence annuity purchases found the following contrast: • Pre-retirees’ intentions to buy a life income annuity appear to be impacted by the interventions tested in this research. There were stronger effects when pre-retirees were provided with basic information, such as life expectancy, and anecdotal evidence. • Retirees’ annuity purchase intentions do not appear to be impacted by the interventions used in the study.

Description: 2020 and 2021 presented numerous challenges to life and annuity product development actuaries. External forces required carriers to rethink underwriting requirements and risk assessment in real time. Alterations in regulatory frameworks and statutory requirements forced changes to product development priorities while alterationsin the work environment forced changes in how work routines were structured. This session will bring together a group of life and annuity stakeholders to discuss how they addressed these and other challenges, and how their work will be impacted going forward.

Description: This article presents a summary of ideas discussed in a 1999 symposium on the subject of the pros and cons of privatization as an element of the U.S. Social Security system. The four main topics addressed were: 1. Overview of Social Security reform. 2. Pros and cons of privatization. 3. Impact of privatization. 4. Practical issues of privatization. From: The Actuary, September 1999 – volume 33 - Issue 7.

Description: Think about the last time you revamped your organization's case setup and billing processes. If nothing is coming to mind, you're not alone. Many insurance carriers haven't rethought the way they do case setup and billing in decades, and it's losing them hundreds of thousands of dollars in premium annually.

Description: This research report analyzed the effects of different types of informational interventions on annuity-related behavioral intentions and beliefs, such as estimated retirement age and life expectancy.

Description: There exists profound health and access disparities among people from different demographics and socioeconomic backgrounds. Health equity is now a central policy directive for the U.S. government and CMS. Speakers representing policy, health care delivery and actuarial spaces will help you discover what health equity policy directions may look like, the challenges health care providers are facing and how actuaries can contribute to the effort in bridging the health equity divides.