Description: Summary of research titled Understanding VM-20 Results.

Description: Discussions of alternative approaching to setting ascribed premiums for market risk benefits under FASB targeted improvements.

Description: Describes a process for identifying relevant industry experience to credibility-weight with relevant company experience to set modeling assumptions and margins.

Description: Continued look at unlocking of traditional contract valuation assumptions, this time examining the frequency of true up for actual experience.

Description: Recently, we have seen renewed interest in the international (or “offshore”) pension plan. An international plan typically provides benefits for internationally mobile workers of a multinational employer, but can also be used for certain other workers. The plan is usually located in a respected international finance centre.

Description: Between the end of the 80’s and the 90´s, the annuity and universal life market started to develop in Argentina in an environment limited by the volatility of the financial market. As a consequence, plans with Fluctuation Funds were developed and proved to be successful. This paper provides a general overview of this experience and the innovations made in Argentina in this matter.

Description: In a world where pensions for new hires are predominantly provided with defined contribution plans, defined benefit plans have moved in many cases from being a strategic human resource management tool to being a source of volatile historic liabilities and costs that need to be managed downward. While the approaches for dealing with these liabilities broadly consist of risk transfer, settlement or funding, the precise options available will vary by country depending on the local pension framework and legal requirements. Any company with material global pension liabilities would be well advised to monitor these closely, in order to be able to take advantage of opportunities to de-risk, and to ensure that a global pension de-risking budget is allocated to the activities which are expected to yield the best returns for the group.

Description: The pension and longevity risk transfer market is growing rapidly, with British-pioneered pension and longevity de-risking emerging outside of the UK and US, with over $270bn in transactions completed globally since 2007. Emerging markets include the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, France and Australia. This article describes the solutions available to plan sponsors who are looking to secure member benefits and achieve a lower risk future, and provides real-world examples of companies who have used innovative solutions to meet their unique needs.

Description: Overview of market trends impacting the group benefits space in Canada and the implications for insures as they prepare for future evolving industry dynamics.

Description: Approaches to filing, approving and implementing LTC rate increases impact policyholder behavior regarding retaining/modifying their coverage.