Description: Decentralized finance, or DeFi, is an emerging financial system powered by blockchain technology. This research report aims to introduce actuaries to DeFi and help them develop a solid understanding of DeFi. It will begin with addressing “what is DeFi?” by providing an introduction on blockchains and DeFi. It will then discuss in further detail the key characteristics, applications, opportunities, and risks of DeFi. After providing the foundation, this report will discuss the potential adoption of DeFi and its interaction with the current financial system (sometime referred to as traditional finance for contrast with DeFi), and the implications for practicing and aspiring actuaries. In addition, a glossary of terms used in DeFi and a brief history of the development of DeFi have been included in the appendix.

Description: The objective of this paper is to provide a practical guide with concrete case studies to help actuaries implement artificial intelligence and machine learning (AIML) to help accelerate the speed of analysis for life and annuity actuarial modeling. We do so by researching the existing literature regarding AIML and its applicability to stochastic modeling and exploring case studies.

Description: This report is a discussion of the significant challenges involved in attempting to research with robust analysis the impact of disparities in health care access, cost and quality of care on financial wellness across racial, ethnic, socioeconomic and other demographic groups in the U.S. for reasons other than or in addition to income, wealth or employment status.

Description: The SOA Research Institute along with the International Section, and the Social Insurance and Public Finance Section are pleased to make available a research report that compares international and domestic mandated paid family and medical leave programs. Special thanks to both Sections for their sponsorship of this effort.

Description: This report presents research into recent population mortality experience compiled by the Retirement Plans Experience Committee (RPEC) of the Society of Actuaries Research Institute as it pertains to development of mortality improvement assumptions for measuring obligations of retirement programs in the United States.

Description: This is the second report in a series on the current state and future opportunity of the retirement market in China. In this report, edition two of the series, you will see results stratified according to city tier and location landscape. Also included in this edition is a description of the differences in retirement age between men and women, and those from different educational backgrounds. This is the Simple Chinese translated version of the report.

Description: This is the first report in a series on the current state and future opportunity of the retirement market in China. This report, edition one of the series, summarizes the significant outcomes from the study. Also included in this edition is a retirement forecast outlining the drivers of change for China’s retirement market and the resulting opportunities.

Description: The SOA concluded surveys that examined the actuarial profession from the perspectives of SOA members and employers. This report presents major conclusions based on the results of these surveys. The analysis has two main objectives: • To compare actuaries’ and employers’ views of actuarial performance on skills that are valuable in today’s market. • To compare actuaries’ and employers’ images of the actuarial profession.

Description: This is a Request for Proposals document issued by the SOA Research Institute, focusing on developing a framework for actuaries to bridge the gap between climate scenario outputs and actuarial assumptions. It outlines the background, research objectives, proposal requirements, selection process, submission guidelines, and appendix with cost estimates.

Description: On October 7, 2023, the SOA Research Institute assembled an industry expert panel to discuss current issues in GenAI. The group was diverse in terms of employment, including company actuaries from life, health and property/casualty backgrounds, as well as consultants from various kinds of firms.