Description: Provides summary of qualitative factors in the current fiscal, economic and political environment that could lead to higher inflation.

Description: A defense of the CLASS Act from the perspective of the private long term care insurance industry.

Description: A discussion of issues and developments that threaten the collective confidence of the LTC insurance industry, including job cutting, changes in reporting requirements, and compliance audits.

Description: veteran insurance producer, who specializes in LTC planning and insurance, discusses a range of issues from his perspective, as well as HNW clients, their financial advisers and a prominent actuary. The author describes his approach to solution development using the products currently available. He also provides excerpts of his conversation with Doug Burkle, ASA, MAAA regarding industry trends.

Description: There is much to be learned as we balance the consumer’s need for LTC now and in the future along with the insurer’s need for sustainability.

Description: The impact of bond default risk on retirement benefit obligations describes how the probability default on a bond is similar to the probability of death for an annuitant. Bonds are used to cash flow match retirement obligations cash flows to funding from bond. Just as the probability of non-payment happens on the liability side, we can do the same with selected bonds. The end result may be an adjustment to the discount rates used.

Description: This issue wraps up the publication of essays to explore solutions available to address risks in retirement and focus on risks in a DC environment.

Description: The author suggests ways to strengthen a company's enterprise risk management process, including the development of an "effective resilience factor," a risk metric that reflects an organization’s exposure and response to an adverse event, and measures the ability of the organization to mitigate the reduction in its operating level.

Description: The latest draft ORSA Guidance Manual was released on Oct. 14, 2011. An overview of the requirements from a qualitative, quantitative and governance perspective was provided in the December edition of the Financial Reporter. Several trade associations and com- panies commented on the draft.

Description: An account of the trials of work ethic issues and college difficulties, and the triumphant story of overcoming obstacles through careful self-improvement.