Description: The Society of Actuaries (SOA) Board of Directors (Board) gathered in Pittsburgh October 23-24. The Board is continuing to work on strengthening the profession and the SOA and to prepare members and candidates for the future.

Description: This report was prepared to provide an overview of pension risk transfer for use in the educational curriculum of the Society of Actuaries. It presents general principles and highlights major differences between Canada and the U.S. from a life insurer’s perspective. The focus is on group annuities, which are the most common solution for pension risk transfer.

Description: The purpose of this analysis is to provide a practical set of changes to the incidence rate modifiers of the 2013 Individual Disability Income Valuation Table to reflect recent industry individual disability income (IDI) claim experience trends from 2005 through 2015. The goal is to have resulting 2005-2015 experience-based incidence modifiers in a workable format to facilitate its use.

Description: The Society of Actuaries released research in 2007, performed by Jim Toole, that develops a model for a U.S. individual life insurance company to consider its potential liability exposure as a result of a pandemic. Sponsored by the Mortality and Longevity Strategic Research Program Steering Committee, this paper updates several model assumptions including mortality in light of COVID-19.

Description: The Society of Actuaries’ Committee on Finance Research is pleased to make available a research report covering the extent to which investment sectors have been contagiously affected by major disasters.

Description: This report discusses the challenges faced by the insurance industry due to climate change, focusing on availability, affordability, and adequacy of insurance in areas impacted by climate-related risks. It covers expert panel discussions, factors influencing insurers, market gaps, solutions, and funding sources.

Description: This webcast will explore hedge strategies that can take advantage of synergies with existing business, improve liquidity and collateral management, incorporate opportunistic design-making, and reflect a company’s appetite for certain risks where excess returns can be earned.

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: An interview with actuary Lee Gold reveals preliminary results of a recent SOA research project which surveyed employees on what retirement plan features they prefer.

Description: An analysis of US population mortality trends and the impact of COVID.