Description: With the credit interest rate floor of a cash balance plan—a simple type of option identified by the Project Oversight Group—as a model, this research uses three valuation and risk analysis approaches to explore the existing techniques to value embedded options on an economic basis.

Description: The US and EU are each pursuing modernization of their regulatory frameworks. The purpose of this paper is to provide a discussion of the emerging developments, the historical contexts or drivers of each, and potential implications for insurers. The paper discusses some of the global, wider financial services, and insurance specific activities underway that are influencing solvency developments for life insurers. It provides an overview of the differences in the current US and EU regimes and the regulatory changes underway. The paper then identifies key valuation implications, the impact on pricing and product design, and risk management implications.

Description: The authors of this report have identified three key corporate finance metrics and measures impacted by corporate pension plans that are increasingly being used by corporate decision-makers. The first is corporate leverage. The second is accounting adjustments made by rating agencies to income statements and cash flow statements. The third is the weighted average cost of capital (WACC) where it is felt that the calculation of the WACC from market data may be biased if corporate pension plans are ignored.

Description: The SOA Research Institute seeks proposals and essays on actuarial aspects of 401(k) plans, including similar plans like 403(b) and 457. Topics include investment impact, participant behavior, plan features, and AI's role. Submissions aim to enhance understanding and future research on retirement savings adequacy and system improvements.

Description: The Society of Actuaries (SOA) Research Institute revisits COVID-19's impact on future U.S. mortality with insights from a multidisciplinary panel of experts. Discover how new variants and other causes of death may influence future mortality trends.

Description: This article series highlights the growing impact of climate change on health, property, and financial institutions, emphasizing the need for actuaries and risk analysts to evaluate and adapt their practices to manage evolving climate-related risks.

Description: The document is about the post-wildfire drinking water crisis and its implications for the insurance industry. It discusses the contamination of drinking water systems by wildfires, remediation strategies, financial considerations for the insurance industry, and potential contributions from the actuarial community.

Description: This methodology guide for the Long-Term Care Population Research Model explains the model's purpose, framework, data sources, user inputs, calculations, and outputs related to public long-term care benefits.

Description: Discover how cutting-edge evaluation techniques can revolutionize decision-making for payers, providers, and consumers in the digital health landscape.

Description: In the second quarter of 2022, publicly traded life insurers reported some of their best financial results since the pandemic began. COVID-19-related claims fell sharply in many product categories. Sales, which had taken a big hit, showed significant improvement as well, though not always to pre-pandemic levels. Sales activity was enough, however, for industry executives to report confidently in their quarterly conference calls that in this regard the worst consequences of the pandemic are over.