Description: The American Academy of Actuaries will present on current initiatives that impact the U.S. statutory reserving methodology for non-variable annuity contracts. In particular, the development of a principle-based reserving framework on non-variable annuity contracts will be discussed, including framework elements, assumptions, and methodology. The session will provide an update on the status of regulatory discussions and the timeline for future changes to reserves. By the end of the session, attendees will understand what changes are being made to non-variable annuity reserves, details underlying existing proposals, and the anticipated timing of such emerging changes. This session is intended to the meet the needs of actuaries focused on annuity reserve calculations, financial reporting, and valuation.

Description: VM-22 was first introduced into the Valuation Manual in 2018. A number of changes have been made since its introduction, with more expected on the way. This article compares valuation requirements for income annuities pre- and post-VM-22, discusses technical and implementation implications with regards to VM-22 (including comparison with New York Regulation 213), and considers future revisions.

Description: The article provides an introduction to tax accounting for U.S. life insurance companies, with a focus on NAIC statutory accounting concepts. The author discusses permanent and temporary differences, the current tax provision, and deferred tax accounting requirements, including admissibility testing under SSAP No. 101.

Description: The discount rate is one of the most critical topics in IFRS 17, which may have important repercussion on product profitability. Having a low discount rate may indicate a low profitability of a group of contracts, while a realistic expectation may differ. A similar issue was prevalent especially for U.S. companies when discount rates were set using a market consistent framework. The session is intended to help develop a discount rate framework that aligns with the business practices and address the concerns around the market consistent framework. This session will cover practical implementation considerations to set and apply IFRS 17 discount rates. The panelists will discuss alternative approaches to allow for a level of illiquidity premium for business supported by fixed assets with credit risks. Discussions will also cover other implementation considerations including granularity of setting the discount rate, application to new business, implications on asset and liability modeling, and a planning aspect for a successful implementation of the discount rate setting process. The panelists will share case studies to illustrate different approaches of setting the discount rate and their potential financial impacts. At the conclusion of the session, attendees will be able to: understand key requirements of setting discount rates under IFRS 17; understand how to align the discount rate to the actual business practices; understand implications of the discount rate in actuarial modeling; understand potential impacts on financial results; and develop a realistic plan to set discount rates appropriate to the business practices.

Description: Health insurance company assets and liabilities have evolved since the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law in March 2010. The ACA fundamentally rearranged how commercial health insurance is funded by integrating federal premium subsidies and pass-throughs together with a marketplace interwoven with transfer payments among stakeholders. The impacts of these programs can be seen in specific accounting items on the balance sheets of health insurance companies over the past 10 years. Their emergence follows three primary trends: (1) balance sheet items tend to be larger and take longer to settle, (2) there are more interactions among items, and (3) the final settlement amounts are more uncertain.

Description: Near the end of a pension plan's lifespan, after benefit accruals have ceased and the plan has reached fully funded status, a plan sponsor has the option to begin the plan termination process immediately or to maintain the plan for an extended period of time (often referred to as 'hibernation' as an alternative to termination). While immediate termination appeals to some plan sponsors, others choose hibernation for a number of reasons, including paternalism, fiduciary obligations, perceived cost differentials or simple inertia.

Description: Companies exempt from PBR can benefit by borrowing ideas and lessons learned from companies that perform and operate in a PBR world. The presenters will discuss VM requirements related to governance policies, as well as assumption and margin setting, plus model validations and controls which can benefit smaller insurance companies. Attendees will learn about new actuarial practices and how the PBR methodology and Valuation Manual can influence their work and highlight available resources.

Description: This session will provide an update on international implications of current tax developments affecting the life insurance industry, including: International add-on taxes from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) Base Erosion Anti-Abuse Tax (BEAT) and impacts on offshore reinsurance An overview of the Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (GILTI) tax Legislative activities impacting company taxation

Description: As the Valuation Manual continues to evolve and PBR standards for additional products are drafted and incorporated, it will become increasingly important for companies to understand how the requirements are consistent across products, as well as how they differ. The presenters will scan the life (VM-20) and annuity (VM-21, VM-22) PBR standards across the Valuation Manual to compare and contrast key requirements. Attendees will learn where common methods and techniques can be used across products and platforms.

Description: The 2020 edition of the Valuation Manual permits mortality data aggregation thereby enhancing credibility but also has accompanying requirements and addresses calculation of company experience rates.