Description: A periodic update from the chairperson on section council activities and outlook for the coming year.

Description: A description of the changes to Social Security that will occur in 2019.

Description: The Social Security Administration’s Office of the Chief Actuary performs estimates for a wide variety of proposals to make changes to Social Security. Many proposals address the long-range solvency deficit for Social Security’s Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) and Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Funds. Other proposals make revisions to specific aspects of Social Security law without significant effects on long-term solvency. This article discusses and provide examples of both types of proposals.

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: As the topic of affordable long-term care (LTC) insurance comes into focus in political conversations, we often find ourselves thinking, “What is going to happen to the private LTC insurance industry going forward?” The need for LTC in the United States is not going away, especially as the population continues to age. With this in mind, this article explores three possible future paths for LTC insurance funding and the associated implications for the private LTC industry.

Description: This article explores the evolving role of assumption management in the life insurance industry. The article highlights how behavioral, economic, and demographic assumptions are critical to pricing, forecasting, and explaining financial results, yet many insurers still struggle with fragmented practices and outdated processes. Drawing on survey insights from 15 U.S. insurers, the authors illustrate persistent challenges in governance, data integration, and automation. They argue for a more holistic, technology-enabled operating model centered on centralized assumption repositories. Such repositories provide a single source of truth, enable automated ingestion into models, support sensitivity testing, and enhance governance and transparency across actuarial, finance, and risk functions. The article offers guiding principles and design considerations for building scalable repositories that improve efficiency, consistency, and decision-making. Ultimately, it positions assumption management modernization not as a technical upgrade but as a strategic imperative to unlock clarity, agility, and competitive advantage in a complex market.

Description: This topic will explore current and upcoming changes to the risk adjustment models and strategies for payers and risk bearing providers to reduce/avoid headwinds and potentially come out on top in the years ahead. We will discuss the timeline, nature and motivation for changes as well as the anticipated associated impacts.

Description: Listen to pre-eminent healthcare actuaries present their pitch for how they'd fix US healthcare (whatever the pitch thinks 'fix' means) if they were supreme policy maker for a day. No idea is too big, and no healthcare actuary's dream is too small.

Description: On July 1, 2023, CMS began their latest Medicare Oncology program, Enhancing Oncology Model (EOM) which was the successor to the previous Oncology Care Model (OCM). Despite a high level of interest during the application period, this model has been met with limited participation, with only 44 participants at the start of the program.

Description: Discover the unique challenges and resilience of LGBTQ+ older adults as they navigate aging and retirement in this comprehensive review.