Description: An interview with Michelle Richter-Gordon which provides a look at how DC participants feel about their financial security in retirement and suggests how retirement professionals can improve the financial security of retirees during the decumulation phase.

Description: Latin America offers significant opportunities for insurers due to its emerging middle class, low insurance penetration, and potential partnerships. The region's insurance market has seen substantial growth, with gross written life insurance premiums increasing by 212% from 2011 to 2022. However, challenges such as low digital adoption and distribution limitations exist. A hybrid approach combining digital platforms with traditional agent support is recommended to address these issues. Strategic alliances with local financial institutions can also facilitate market entry. Despite these challenges, the Latin American insurance market remains highly profitable and resilient, making it an attractive area for expansion

Description: The numerous restrictions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic have certainly affected everyone and those measures may have consequences for our health. The article attempts to uncover possible links between COVID-19 and depression.

Description: GAAP's elimination of gross profit as a basis for amortization of deferred acquisition costs enables the accounting for reinsurance of universal life contracts to better reflect the economic protection provided by reinsurance. It also makes it easier to assess the effectiveness of different techniques. Building on the analysis of an earlier article, "A Fresh Look at Accounting for Reinsurance of Universal Life," this article presents a practical approach to estimating the ineffectiveness of several existing techniques at accounting for the economic protection provided by reinsurance. The article ends with a summary of what a company might do to improve the effectiveness of its reinsurance accounting.

Description: A discussion on technology improvements in establishing compliance with sections 7702 and 7702A. The Internal Revenue Code defines life insurance using actuarial tests that limit the investment in a life insurance contract as compared to the death benefit. Inadvertant failures of the actuarial tests can be uncovered by testing in order to enable remediation.

Description: The article describes the factors that should determine the asset allocation of an employer's QDIA, especially Target Date Funds, and suggests that in general QDIAs have insufficient equity in retirement asset allocations.

Description: The direct and indirect effects of the pandemic have impacted many actuaries’ work since the spring of 2020. This article addresses three considerations actuaries should account for when using risk evaluation models which are focused on projecting remote, highly unlikely losses: model effectiveness, asset risk, and insurance (mortality and mortality) risk.

Description: This article delves into the transformative realm of Business Intelligence (BI) tools. We explore the fundamental functionality and structure of these tools, and through case studies illustrate how they offer valuable insights into carrier experience and underwriting dynamics. From real-time data visualization to in-depth data analysis, discover the essential features that empower businesses to make better informed decisions.

Description: As actuaries, we’re trained to see patterns in numbers and to design solutions that mitigate risk. But I can tell you from experience that while quantitative analysis and modeling are critical actuarial tools, looking at the numbers alone can lead to insurance products that don’t succeed in the real world the way the math says they “should.” With new digital technologies, we have more data at our fingertips than ever before, but I believe it’s equally as important to bring qualitative research methodologies into your product development process if you want to design solutions that meet real needs in the market. In this article, Amanda Turcotte shares what happens when qualitative research is neglected or ignored, what happens when you incorporate it into the product design process, and how to implement qualitative research practices in your organization.

Description: This article provides an overview on one of the most budget-, resource- and time-consuming components in an insurers’ IFRS 17 implementation journey in Asia – the Subledger implementation. This article covers the key functionalities of a subledger system, as well as the important lessons learned during the implementation processes.