Description: Discussion of potential volatility to non-participating long-duration traditional contract reserves under US GAAP targeted improvements to accounting for long-duration insurance contracts. Discusses the impact of revising assumptions as well as interaction of revising assumptions with changes to discount rates.

Description: Risk management techniques do not include system science. System science requires that the uncertainty of the world is incorporated into the results. The articles explains the difference between risk and uncertainty. Learn how risk practices create an overoptimistic view of future outcomes.

Description: Article discussing how geospatial imagery and high-resolution image technology are transforming property insurance.

Description: This article outlines how Bermuda advanced in global tax compliance through the enactment of the Bermuda Corporate Income Tax (CIT) Act of 2023, which will take effect for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2025. The Bermuda CIT rules incorporate key foundational definitions from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Pillar Two GloBE model rules, while also exhibiting significant differences from Pillar Two. The article discusses the various elections available for taxpayers, key mechanics of the CIT, and the latest administrative guidance released by the Government of Bermuda.

Description: Milliman was engaged by the SOA to conduct two Accelerated Underwriting (AU) surveys, one of direct companies and another of reinsurers. The surveys explored actual results from 2019–2021 and expected results from 2022.

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: This article briefly summarizes the history of the Passive Foreign Investment Company (PFIC) tax regime. Then it provides a detailed description of the PFIC proposed regulations issued in July of 2019.

Description: Read the Quo Vadis Reinsurance.

Description: Many retirement actuaries have experience developing, implementing, and monitoring Liability Driven Investing (LDI) strategies for plan sponsors. These strategies typically involve modifying a plan’s investment strategy to remove a significant portion of the investment and interest rate risk now or at some point in the future when specific triggers are met. The tactics often involve the use of fixed income assets to cash flow and/or duration match the liabilities. In the spirit of helping actuaries expand their roles in an evolving defined contribution world, this article explores the application of LDI and derisking strategies within defined contribution and individual retirement accounts. The economic theory behind this approach is called the lifecycle hypothesis, or lifecycle finance. The benefits of the lifecycle finance method are that it provides a safe approach to save for retirement and a secure source of floor income during retirement. Similar to pension plans, each individual has his or her own idiosyncratic needs, wants, and risks that should be considered. Actuaries are uniquely situated to help defined contribution plan sponsors, individuals, and even themselves implement the lifecycle finance approach by developing and distributing tools and methods that focus on income (rather than wealth), LDI strategies, and personalization.

Description: Discussion and Opinion on how randomness affects measurement of provider contracting risk-sharing agreements