Description: Interest rate changes and volatile equity returns have contributed to significant funding and expense volatility for defined benefit plans in recent years. This paper will describe the design of an option contract with payouts that are tied to the combined impact of interest rates and investment returns on the funding level of a defined benefit pension plan. Current derivatives used by plan sponsors can limit exposure to one of these risks; however, a derivative that combines these risks may provide more targeted protection to a plan sponsor at lower cost. This paper discusses several considerations in designing such a derivative. It will also briefly discuss pricing of the option. Finally, the difference in potential outcomes between plan funding with and without option ownership will be demonstrated. As an outcome of the design work, a new way to visualize pension risk that may be useful in sponsor accounting disclosures will be shown.

Description: The Bermuda International Life and Annuity Conference highlights Bermuda’s enhanced capital and solvency framework, and growing long-term (re)insurance sector.

Description: Technological innovations are disrupting traditional business models, improving products, and enhancing the user experience.

Description: Jeff Sagarin is one of the most well-known figures in the sports analytics world, with his sports ratings appearing in USA Today for over 30 years. Few may know that he started his career in the actuarial world, even passing three exams before his sports ratings took off. This article explores the parallels between the challenges of developing sports rating systems and the challenges that actuaries face every day.

Description: History of Big Data, and approaches to cope with it. The author suggests that actuaries have been using similar methods for a long time; but need to get up to speed on the newer terms and variations.

Description: International case study discussing life insurance in Ghana.

Description: This article summarizes a recent revenue ruling concerning the insurance company qualification of an affiliate that reinsures retiree health benefits under an arrangement entered into by a VEBA.

Description: The author's asserts that when estimating life expectancy, care should be taken to account for how trends in mortality can change over time change over time and that by assuming they remain constant, one can underestimate life expectancy and therefore undervalue annuity products.

Description: View the complete issue for the August 2014 Reinsurance News newsletter.

Description: Discussion of how to apply FinTech and IT processes and technologies to building an in house actuarial models.