Description: Annuities are presenting ever-greater risks for the direct writers: • Variable annuities with guaranteed minimum and enhanced death benefits and income benefits • Fixed annuities with multi-year rate guarantees are capital intensive • In-force structured settlements have asset portfolios with declining investment yields • The impact to the payout annuity market from lengthening life expectancies From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Volume 27, No. 3, Session 146 PD of the New Orleans Annual Meeting

Description: Recently, there has been an increase in the product development of simplified issue products in the United States. In the past two years, Gen Re LifeHealth has reviewed over 40 such products, ranging from vanilla direct-marketed products to high-end single premium immediate annuity SPIA paid universal life products. From Small Talk Newsletter, June 2005, Issue No. 24.

Description: Discussion of Living to 100 Session 5A. The papers presented propose a new method to price the longevity risk premia in order to tackle the pricing obstacle and reviewed the insurance industry implications on retirement planning and the secondary market in insurance.

Description: This paper is a literature review of available papers, publications, articles, and presentations on the topic of longevity risk.

Description: The Actuary Vol. 22, No. 7. This article discusses the activities and goals of the Product Development Section of the SOA. Future activities will include joint sessions with other sections since product development issues sometimes relate to financial reporting. reinsurance, investments and nontraditional marketing.

Description: This session from the 1984 SOA Toronto Meeting discusses rear end loaded universal life policies and the Canadian view on rear end loads on life and annuity policies. From Record of the Society of Actuaries Vol. 10, No. 4

Description: Initiated by the Financial Reporting Section, this paper explores rising interest rates. Following this path, the paper will look at implications of interest rate changes for the life insurance industry, current stress testing practices, and how a risk manager can proactively prepare for an uncertain future. A paper published in 2014 focused on why rates could stay low, and some aspects of this paper are similar (e.g., description of insurance products). This paper also uses a sample model office to help practitioners look at their own exposures. It includes typical interest-sensitive insurance products and how they might perform across various scenarios, as well as a survey to establish current practices for how insurers are testing interest rate risk currently.

Description: This study examines the persistency of deferred annuities on a contract anniversary basis for 1992 and 1993 anniversaries. One purpose of this study is to analyze the surrender activity of deferred annuities by selected product, customer, and distribution characteristics. This study is the first to examine surrender activity of all types of deferred annuities.

Description: This literature guide concentrates on references that relate to U.S. annuities. Only a few sources pertain to Canadian annuities. Although similarities exist in product design between U.S. and Canadian annuities, regulation and taxation are different. This guide also focuses primarily on areas that are specific to the subject of annuities and touches upon related issues such as investments and pensions more lightly.

Description: This 1977 panel discussion examined individual tax qualified products. Areas covered included: 1. Regulatory developments 2. Products being used 3. Effect of the current money market on product design 4. Assumptions 5. Results by market 6. Spousal IRA's