Reminders

• There’s still time to pre-register for the Academy’s special “Retirement for the AGES” public policy forum in Washington on April 28. View the final agenda and register online. On-site registration will open at 8:30 a.m.
• Nominate deserving Academy members for the Robert J. Myers Public Service Award and the Jarvis Farley Service Award. The Myers award recognizes actuaries in public service who have made an exceptional contribution to the common good. The Farley award is given to Academy members whose volunteer efforts on behalf of the Academy have made significant contributions to the advancement of the profession.

Alert

• MV/AV Practice Note: The Minimum Value (MV) Practice Note Work Group has released the final practice note, Minimum Value (MV) and Actuarial Value (AV) Determinations Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). It provides information to actuaries who will be calculating minimum value and actuarial value for health insurance plans under the ACA. To read the full alert, log in to the membership page and visit “Health Alerts.”

Newly Released

• The Academy’s Essential Elements paper, The 80% Pension Funding Myth, is the most recent in this series designed to make actuarial analyses of public policy issues more accessible to widespread audiences. Sign up for email updates and be the first to know when new papers are released.

Public Policy Activities

• The Risk-Sharing Work Group submitted a letter to the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight with comments on a proposed rule related to exchanges and market reforms for 2015, specifically addressing ACA risk-sharing mechanisms.
• The Principle-Based Reserve Strategy Subgroup submitted a comment letter to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) that suggests discussion topics for a potential interim meeting of the PBR Implementation (EX) Task Force.
  

Opportunities to Learn and Earn CE

• Join panelists from the Academy’s Group Long-Term Disability Work Group for the May 15 Academy webinar, “What You Need To Know On The New Group Long-Term Disability Valuation Table And Actuarial Guideline.” The webinar will provide an in-depth look at the use, application, and various features of the new group long-term disability valuation table and actuarial guideline approved by the NAIC on April 1. Register online now.
• Do you wish to qualify to sign the NAIC annual statement actuarial opinions, but you haven’t met the basic education requirements set forth in Section 3.1.1 of the U.S. Qualification Standards? Acquire the required basic and continuing education at the 2014 Life and Health Qualifications Seminar, which will take place Nov. 10-13 in Arlington, Va. Learn more and register now.

Recent Events

• The Life Practice Council’s April 22 “Post-NAIC Update/PBA” webinar reviewed the NAIC spring 2014 national meeting, including providing an account of the most recent Life Actuarial (A) Task Force meeting, a discussion of activities at the Life Risk-Based Capital (E) Working Group meeting, an update on VM-22 development, and a review of the recently exposed Life Principle-Based Reserves Under VM-20 practice note. View the webinar slides.
• April’s “Academy Capitol Forum: Meet the Experts” webinar looked “behind the numbers” of the Disability Insurance Trust Fund with Social Security Chief Actuary Steve Goss. Goss provided an overview of the disability insurance program, and discussed its projected solvency and cost drivers, as well as policymakers’ proposed reforms to the program. View the webinar slides and watch the recording.

Academy in the News

• Senior Pension Fellow Donald Fuerst was cited in a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article on pension de-risking. Fuerst also reviewed the Academy’s “Essential Elements” public policy papers during the April 24 edition of the “Health, Wealth and Wisdom” radio show, broadcast by WHNZ 1250 AM in Tampa, Fla.
• The Pension Practice Council’s and the Pension Finance Task Force’s letters to congressional leadership on the risks of recently discussed pension proposals were the subject of a (subscriber-only) Bloomberg BNA story.
• The Risk-Sharing Work Group’s comment letter on a proposed rule related to exchanges and market reforms was featured in BenefitsLink Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter.

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