This annual invitation-only event is integral to the Academy’s effort to keep our volunteer leadership informed and educated about how we can and do contribute to public policy issues. We look forward to spending a full day on July 14 with you engaged in cross-practice discussion on some of our essential policy work.
 
Summit to Address Cross-Practice Challenges
This year’s summit will touch all practice areas and each of us personally. While much has been made of the baby boom generation coming of retirement age, the urgency of longevity risk, and the need to prepare financially for a lifetime income, there is much that is not being done. We need to continue our work to redirect public policy to address emerging needs driven by an aging population and a decaying infrastructure:

• Taking immediate steps to address solvency concerns of key public programs like Social Security and Medicare to ensure they are sustainable with fewer workers per-retirees contributing to those systems in the near future;
• Addressing private retirement systems that, with the advent and popularity of 401(k)s, place more risk on the individual to manage their retirement savings while lacking working knowledge of longevity risk relative to lifetime income;
• Evaluating the relative level of geriatric health, and the needs of frail elders and those with disabilities, and assessing the ability of Medicare and other public and private programs to meet those needs;
• Addressing caregiver needs and concerns through public or private programs, including private long-term care insurance; and
• The impact of delayed retirement, either voluntary or through future retirement age changes, on benefit programs, as well as the needs it may create with increased demand for early retirement hardship considerations and disability income programs.

 
Additionally, with increased longevity are concerns relative to seniors’ independence, including their ability to drive their cars, work part-time, and care for spouses who are no longer able to care for themselves. Should the profession reexamine rate setting practices or risk classification considerations based on the changing demographic? Are there potential public policy concerns involving disparate impact or price optimization that come in to play when looking at the insured’s age? Are there medical professional liability concerns unique to geriatric care?

 In particular, to examine the implications of the aging American population for both public policy and the actuarial profession, we need to focus on:

1. Identifying key concerns for an aging society;
2. Determining where gaps exist in current programs to meet those needs;
3. Examining how the Academy can work with policymakers to fill those gaps.

The Academy’s Voice on Public Policy Issues
Your volunteer leadership role at the Academy allows you to bring a valuable perspective on the critical issues of national importance facing the public and the U.S. actuarial profession.
 
Please join your colleagues for the Summit to ensure we bring our collective strength and perspective for a cross-practice approach to examine these challenges, and how to further efforts to address them through our Academy.
 
We will convene at 9:00 a.m. (registration and breakfast will begin at 8:00 a.m.) and adjourn at 4:00 p.m. A more detailed program will be forthcoming once guest speakers and other programming details have been confirmed.
 
More Information

• Click here to register for the 2014 Summer Summit
• Click here for hotel information
• Click here to view the Agenda
• Click here to view Additional Resources