Description: An excerpt from a presentation at the 2014 Living to 100 Symposium, this article describes an open-source model for use by actuaries attempting to estimate future health benefit costs, discusses its strengths and limitations, and projects that spending for those age over 65 will take more than $13 trillion by 2055, about 50 percent of total medical expenditures.

Description: Exploration of sources of volatility in retiree health valuations, noting how volatility arises and might be mitigated, with discussion of valuation parameters more problematic for retiree health benefits than for pensions. Three significant influences on retiree health valuation volatility are covered-- changes in benefit level, fluctuations in cost level, and alterations in eligibility for, or duration of, benefit – and attention focused on the last two. Specific conclusions result in recommendations, which are supported by practical examples contrasting volatile measurement results with those likely from the recommended practices. Theoretical discussion includes health claim variation, health trend usage, financial economics, option pricing, discount rates, and deterministic vs. stochastic modeling.

Description: From a session at a meeting of the Society of Actuaries held in San Diego, CA, June 22-23, 2000 The panel discusses: 1 Financial modeling tools used by the actuarial profession, 2 Pricing techniques used by Wall Street financial analysts, 3 Advantages and disadvantages of each approach 4 Market implications of each approach, and 5 Potential for harmonization of the two techniques.

Description: From a session at the 2000 Valuation Actuary Symposium held in Washington DC, September 14-15, 2000 Discussion of newer and more innovative investment structures and the modeling of these securities in cash-flowing testing and asset/liabilities management analysis.

Description: From the 1985 Valuation Actuary Symposium Discussion of techniques for determining capital requirements needed to support an insurance business, based on the nature of the assets and liabilities on the books and related investment strategies, using ALM modeling

Description: The author describes the 29th. edition of the International Summer School, held in Lausanne, Switzerland, organized by the Swiss Association of Actuaries.

Description: Discussion rebutting the Dec. 2004 issue of The Financial Reporter article titled, “On the Fair Value of Insurance Liabilities,” authored by Don Solow. That article expressed disagreement with the position of the International Accounting Standards Board and the Financial Accounting Standards Board to reflect the value of “own credit risk” in the fair valuation of insurance liabilities.

Description: This is a continuation of a discussion about the the theoretically correct treatment of the credit put the policyholder writes when purchasing an insurance contract.

Description: ongoing discussion of the proper interest rate to use in discounting liability cash flows to reflect credit risk of the insurer in a fair value accounting system

Description: A discussion of the use of stochastic modeling in Embedded Value financial reporting