Description: The article first tries to determine a consensus view of what social security should accomplish and then tries to measure how well the current level of benefits succeeds in meeting these goals. Assessing benefit adequacy is an essential element in putting the overall program on a sound financing footing.

Description: 2021 Life Meeting - Session 8A: Use of Electronic Health Records in the Assessment of Life and Health Risks 9.1.21 Recording

Description: There is no silver bullet to improving retirement income outcomes for retirees. However, a combination of changes can be of significant value in addressing this overlooked issue. Although QLACs on the surface have potential value, they are not nearly as efficient as they could be. So far, employer plans have provided limited options for retirement income solutions. IRAs may not cost effectively serve the best interest of retirees. Employer plans should be encouraged to become retirement income providers and alternative approaches should be considered. The current prohibition on allowing plans to modify benefit payouts based on mortality experience should be reconsidered to allow for innovative plan income designs. Improvements to the deaccumulation stage of the retiree nest egg are challenging yet necessary.

Description: There are practical and conceptual aspects underlying (re)insurability. Practically, something or someone is insurable if an insurer is willing provide insurance coverage at a price the applicant is willing to pay. In contrast, a conceptual view of (re)insurabiity incorporates a range of more complex factors usually considered in the insurance process. This article discusses these two approaches.

Description: As the size of the life reinsurance market in Bermuda has grown to over half a trillion dollars at the end of 2021, more and more actuaries are getting involved with this 21 square mile North Atlantic island in one way or the other. Come explore a fundamental understanding of the Bermuda solvency framework and an overview of its upcoming changes.

Description: In 2020, the Korean insurance regulator, Financial Services Commission (FSC), introduced a coinsurance structure allowing for full risk transfer—including investment risk, interest rate risk, insurance risk, and policyholder lapse risk—as a permitted practice. Expanding use of coinsurance in the Korean insurance market brings a suite of potential benefits to Korean insurance companies including increased financial flexibility, options to improve policyholder protection and shareholder value through optimization of business strategies. As such, FSC’s initiative and intention to introduce coinsurance opportunities to the market is commendable.

Description: The big event of 2023 is the launch of multiple Humira biosimilars, which began in January with the arrival of Amgen’s Amjevita on the market. The launch of Amjevita kicks off the process of changing the specialty drug marketplace in the United States. The expectation of the full impact of this big event is very hopeful, but there is still uncertainty several months after its beginning. Humira is the highest-selling drug in the world and has been since 2013 (Figure 1)—except for when COVID-19 projects temporarily surpassed it. The world is eagerly awaiting the launch of multiple biosimilar drugs to compete with Humira and hopefully bring more competitive pricing to the benefit of payers and patients everywhere.

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: Explore the value and cost of prescription drugs, how they should be defined and measured and the effects various stakeholders in the pharmacy ecosystem can have on these factors in the latest webcast. You'll investigate the impact of coverage, formulary and rebate negotiations and related benefit design. Find out how actuaries can answer questions related to the prescription drug industry, in addition to improving the access, quality and affordability of prescription drugs in the United States. Join us for this webcast and come learn about value-based contract design, negotiations, implementation and administration for prescription drugs.

Description: This webcast provides an overview of the key provisions of the recently enacted SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022, which significantly changed the rules that apply to qualified retirement plans and IRAs. The presenters will examine a history of the legislation and focus on some of the key provisions of the Act. In particular, we will discuss provisions that give individuals more flexibility on how they will contribute to their retirement accounts and provisions that provide new ways for individuals to save. Explore certain significant structural changes to the rules such as the automatic enrollment for new plans and the elimination of lifetime RMDs for designated Roth accounts. The panel will also focus on the provisions that provide greater access to retirement funds through new distribution exceptions and how this might affect a company’s reporting obligations. Come learn about some of the relief provisions included in SECURE 2.0, including an expanded EPCRS program to cover errors relating to IRAs. In addition to a discussion about the key provisions, the panel will review steps companies should be taking to implement the SECURE 2.0 provisions, including timelines for amending documents and systems. Identify certain issues for which guidance or technical corrections is likely needed, such as clarification on the required beginning date age.