Description: This article, Spreadsheet Controls Add Risk Resilience, spotlights why spreadsheets have stood the test of time and how they help contribute to an actuary’s success. It also discusses common causes of data integrity issues relative to spreadsheets. And, offers insight into controls that can be utilized to helps actuaries solve these issues and ensure the accuracy and consistency of the data on which they base their analysis.

Description: This article summarizes five key lessons we have learned in implementing LDTI and shares our insights on practical ways to address them. This is not an exhaustive list of implementation challenges, but companies that can successfully tackle the issues we describe should have a smoother data and systems implementation transition.

Description: Blockchain technology has the potential to significantly improve the quality of life and overall health of the members of a health system, while also adding to administrative efficiencies. For the first time, we will have access to members’ entire diagnoses and prescription history, consumer behavioral attributes, and other socio-economic determinants which that are valuable inputs to designing appropriate benefits and proper care management plans. Through the blockchain, we will be able to access data not just of the existing members of the health system but also of potential enrollees and new entrants. The data can be accessed by querying the blockchain through a permissioned granted by the member. This information can be very useful in performing feasibility studies for evaluating entry into newer markets and/or newer products, developing customized care plans, and designing efficient value-based contracts. By executing smart contracts on the blockchain, we will be able to achieve administrative efficiencies like never before. The applications of blockchain technology are numerous and ground-breaking. Organizations that do not pay heed to the benefits that blockchain can bring may find themselves left behind as the rest of the industry marches forward in its quest for efficiency and member satisfaction.

Description: MACRA not only impact providers, it will impact the entire healthcare market. MACRA published studies and commentary to date have primarily focused on providers, with the majority of the information addressing the impacts to clinicians. However, our investigation indicates MACRA has far reaching impacts to payers as well as providers. MACRA is impacting each geographic market and line of business in a unique way, and health payers will have multiple strategic decisions to consider given the changing market dynamics.

Description: The widening gap in life span between high- and low-income Americans may be eroding the progressivity of Social Security retirement benefits. Differential longevity trends have had the effect of raising lifetime benefits for high earners but not for low earners. Social Security’s long-term financial problems result in part from an increase in average life expectancy driven by wealthier people living longer, and, thereby, collecting more benefits. Policymakers should not use funding shortfalls attributable to these trends as an excuse to cut monthly benefits alike for those who have gained (high earners) and for those who haven’t (low earners).

Description: Effectiveness in Administrating Individual Life Insurance Policies

Description: The collective investment in transforming the life insurance proposition exceeds anything seen in the last thirty years — a working lifetime. As one would expect, reinsurers are playing a major role. The past five years have seen global reinsurers raise the bar on client experience to new levels, while also investing, expanding and re-organizing to support the transformation of the primary insurance industry, and in so doing also their own.

Description: Read the Quo Vadis Reinsurance.

Description: Describes the challenges of using replacement ratios for retirement planning and suggests alternative approaches including spending strategies such as the 4% rule or divide your age by 20 (Feel Free spending) rule. Identifies and prioritizes different types of spending needs including sustenance, lifestyle, health care and bequest. In addition the article provides data showing how spending typically drops as retirees age and discusses how to take this into account when planning when to retire or how much to spend in retirement.

Description: Staff Fellow introductory column with discussion of the role of actuaries for defined contribution plans and recently released research on generational differences in retirement planning and savings.