Announcements

• The Office of the Actuary in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is seeking an executive-level health actuary for the director of the Parts C & D Actuarial Group. The Parts C & D Actuarial Group is responsible for all actuarial functions relating to the Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug programs. Additional information, including the process for applying, can be found on the federal government’s official jobs website through May 16.
• The Academy has joined the National Retirement Planning Coalition, an alliance of organizations that sponsor National Retirement Planning Week®, which will take place April 7–11. “By stepping up to join the coalition and participate in National Retirement Planning Week, the Academy hopes to amplify its message that planning early and carefully for retirement security is essential,” said Academy President Tom Terry. Read the news release and learn more about National Retirement Planning Week at www.retireonyourterms.org.

Final Reminder

• Volunteer action required: Committing on an annual basis to professional objectivity is required to perform volunteer work for the Academy. If you haven’t done so yet, please submit your conflict of interest (COI) acknowledgement and continuing education (CE) attestation by following the instructions in the email reminder you received from the Academy or under the “COI and CE Acknowledgement” section of the membership page (log in here). Failure to submit will result in being dropped from committee membership(s).

Public Policy Activities

• Carolyn Colvin, acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA), told the leaders of actuarial associations from around the globe on March 28 that SSA is exploring the possibility of returning to an old practice—mailing paper statements that provide workers with an estimate of the Social Security benefits they are likely to receive. Invited by Academy President Tom Terry to address the President’s Forum of the International Actuarial Association (IAA) in Washington, Colvin noted that “it’s very important for workers to be able to review those earnings and ensure that that’s accurate early on.” If reinstated, the mailings wouldn’t be done annually but rather on some less frequent, periodic basis, she told the presidents of actuarial associations meeting in Washington in conjunction with the IAA’s semiannual council and committee meetings.
• The Academy is calling upon Congress to act on legislation to address challenges facing multiemployer pension plans. The Pension Practice Council sent a letter to congressional leaders on March 31 warning that important provisions in the Pension Protection Act of 2006 on multiemployer plan funding that sunset at the end of this year must not only be extended, but also improved.
• The Life Financial Reporting Committee completed a draft of its practice note detailing practices on the purchase method of accounting on value of business acquired, goodwill and other intangible assets under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles commonly referred to as Purchase GAAP. The draft is exposed for comment until June 2.
• As the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC) spring meeting in Orlando wrapped up, representatives of Academy councils, committees, and work groups made presentations and delivered updates to attendees, including:
• The Principle-Based Reserve Strategy Subgroup submitted comments on the exposed Feb. 17, 2014, Report of Rector & Associates, Inc. to the Principle-Based Reserving Implementation (EX) Task Force.
• The C-1 Work Group gave a presentation to the Investment Risk-Based Capital (E) Working Group on C-1 factors for corporate bonds.
• The Contingent Annuity Issues Work Group responded to questions from the NAIC regarding the reserving and capital requirements for contingent annuities.
• Dale Ogden, chairperson of the Committee on Property and Liability Financial Reporting, provided an update on the committee’s activities.

For a full overview of the Academy’s role at the NAIC meeting, log in to the Academy’s membership page and visit “General Alerts.”

Professionalism News

• The Council on Professionalism sponsored a breakfast and discussion forum, “Professionalism Matters,” for regulators at the NAIC spring meeting on March 29. At the breakfast, Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline (ABCD) member John Purple unveiled the ABCD 2013 annual report. Topics discussed at the breakfast included a request for regulators to submit feedback on ways to improve actuarial standards of practice, in particular those which pertain to regulatory actuarial filings, ABCD investigation and applicability guidelines, and CE auditing of members.
• Ken Kent, Academy Chairperson of the Joint Committee on the Code of Professional Conduct, spoke at the 30th International Congress of Actuaries session “Ethics and Professionalism for the Consulting Actuary” on April 1. He presented on defining the actuarial profession’s ethical responsibilities, and how personal and public responsibility influence actuarial work. Ken Hohman, Academy former president and international secretary, also assisted in the dialogue and explained the IAA’s role in professionalism and ethics. Speaker Sheila Kalkunte, Academy assistant general counsel, presented on self-regulation and the significance of Code of Professional Conduct in the U.S. actuarial profession.

Opportunities to Learn

• Nov. 13–14, 2014: Save the date for the American Academy of Actuaries Annual Meeting and Public Policymakers Forum in Washington. The new one-and-a-half day schedule and format for the Academy’s annual meeting will provide informative breakout sessions and larger group discussions with an opportunity for CE credits. The program will include prominent speakers, from inside and outside D.C., with extensive experience in legislative, regulatory, and professionalism policies affecting the U.S. actuarial profession. Additional details will be announced later this month.
• This month’s “Academy Capitol Forum: Meet the Experts” webinar, “Disability Insurance Trust Fund: Behind the Numbers with SSA’s Chief Actuary,” will take place April 23 from noon to 1 p.m. Eastern. Speaker Steve Goss, SSA chief actuary, will provide an overview of the disability insurance program, and discuss its projected solvency and cost drivers, as well as policymakers’ proposed reforms to the program. Register online now.

Academy in the News

• Senior Health Fellow Cori Uccello provided perspective on Affordable Care Act (ACA) enrollment numbers for readers of the Morning Consult.
• Senior Pension Fellow Donald Fuerst urged action to address Social Security’s financial challenges in a Life and Health Advisor article.
• The Pension Practice Council’s letter to congressional leadership regarding multiemployer pension plan funding provisions of the PPA was covered by InsuranceNewsNet and BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter, and in a (subscriber-only) Bloomberg BNA story.
• State Long-Term Care Task Force Chairperson Al Schmitz and Health Practice Financial Reporting Committee Chairperson Laurel Kastrup were quoted in the Marketwatch story, “How to win the long-term-care insurance game.”
• The Academy’s announcement regarding joining the National Retirement Planning Coalition was reported by InsuranceNewsNet.
• A Marketwatch story, “Your retirement planning checklist,” urged readers to avail themselves of the Academy’s Pension Assistance List.
• A National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education web page mentioned the Academy as a partner of the Health Care Cost Institute.
• A posting on the Over 65 Blog focuses on the Academy’s Retirement for the AGES initiative.

Newly Released

• March Actuarial Update: Read about the Academy’s presence at the spring NAIC meeting, the Health Practice Council’s visit to Congress on ACA implementation and the sustainability of Medicare, a message from Academy President Tom Terry, nominations for Academy regular directors, and much more.

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