Description: The appropriate role for actuaries when advising on long-term investment strategies for individual retirement savings.

Description: Summary of research project designed to document method to credit interest rates to account value based products. The investment year method (IYM) can theoretically align with investment strategy and be fair to policyholders. These products were designed in the 1980s with guaranteed nominal rates above what is currently accessible so most products credit the guaranteed rate. This paper documents how it could be resurrected during the next interest rate cycle.

Description: The article summarizes PLRs 201515001 and 201519001, in which the IRS addressed the treatment of a non-qualified deferred annuity contract under the investor control doctrine and other applicable rules. The contract provides a guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit and investment options that correspond to “public” mutual funds. The IRS concluded that the investor control doctrine will apply to treat the contract purchaser as the owner of the mutual fund shares for federal income tax purposes. The IRS also addressed certain other tax aspects of the arrangement. The effect of the rulings is that the contract will be taxed similarly to a contingent deferred annuity (where the policyholder holds the mutual fund shares in his or her own brokerage account), while being structured like a traditional deferred variable annuity (where the insurance company holds the shares in its separate account).

Description: How to set asset assumption, at the cycle or through the cycle and other considerations

Description: This paper will describe why self-insurance is less attractive with transparent-accounting rules, and the will examine two strategies an employer can execute to reduce the plan's and the plan participant's risks.

Description: The article summarizes several recent private letter rulings from the IRS addressing the "investor control" doctrine in the context of funds of funds.

Description: Many of the innovations and methods required to improve retirement security exist, but have not been pulled together into an integrated solution at scale.

Description: Longevity insurance benefits are deferred annuities that begin payment at advanced older ages, such as at age 82. With a longevity insurance benefit, the problem of asset decumulation with uncertain life expectancy is simplified. Instead of planning for an uncertain period, retirees can plan for the fixed period from the date of their retirement to the date at which they start receiving the longevity insurance benefit. Originally, Social Security was structured as a longevity insurance benefit program, with roughly 50 percent of those entering the workforce surviving to receive the benefits. Over time, however, as life expectancy has improved, Social Security benefits have slowly transformed into benefits that most people entering the work force ultimately receive. While adding longevity insurance as a new benefit when Social Security is already facing a financing deficit would be problematic, reintroduction of a longevity insurance benefit a s part of Social Security reform package that involved benefit cuts could be an important policy innovation.