Annual Meeting and Public Policy Forum, Nov. 13–14

• New speakers have been added to the agenda for the Academy’s Annual Meeting and Public Policy Forum in Washington next month. Among recent additions are several Federal Emergency Management Agency officials, and consumer advocate Sonja Larkin-Thorne, serving on a panel focused on the potential impact of climate change and natural catastrophes on actuarial practice. The annual meeting offers public policy and professionalism content relevant to all actuarial areas of practice, the opportunity to earn up to 12.2 organized activity continuing education (CE) credits and 1.5 professionalism CE credits, as well as entertainment and networking opportunities. View the agenda, updated with the latest speakers, and register here.

Opportunities to Learn

• The National Conference of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL), and how it develops public policy relating to insurance, will be the topic of the Academy’s Capitol Forum: Meet the Experts webinar Nov. 3 at noon Eastern Time. North Dakota state representative and former NCOIL President George Keiser will join us to discuss how the organization contributes to the development of insurance policy at the state level and how industry, consumers and the Academy are involved. Rep. Keiser will also take questions from members. Learn more and register now.
• Actuaries who prepare or sign National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) annual statement actuarial opinions on P/C loss reserves, or those who assist in preparing them, will find valuable the Academy’s 2014 Seminar on P/C Effective Loss Reserve Opinions: Tools for the Appointed Actuary, Dec. 2–3 at the Westin Baltimore Washington Airport. Attendees will earn valuable CE credit. Learn more and register here.

Professionalism Activities

• The Council on Professionalism, with the assistance of Academy practice councils, has released updated Applicability Guidelines for actuarial standards of practice (ASOPs), which were last revised in 2009. The updated edition reflects a new format using Microsoft Excel, which the council hopes will provide greater utility for actuaries. The Applicability Guidelines provide actuaries with a nonauthoritative reference as to which ASOPs might apply to particular actuarial tasks within practice areas. Click here to download the Applicability Guidelines. This resource is not published by the Actuarial Standards Board (ASB), but instead, is similar to practice notes, in that they are resources for, but not guidance to, practitioners. Practitioners are not obligated to comply with them, but they have served as a handy resource for actuaries to consider which ASOPs may impact their specific actuarial work.

Alerts

• The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued a proposed methodology on Oct. 23 for determining federal funding for the Basic Health Program (BHP) in program year 2016. The BHP provides states with the flexibility to establish a health benefits coverage program for lower-income individuals as an alternative to coverage through the state's exchange program under the Affordable Care Act. Learn more by logging in to the members-only page and visiting “Health Alerts.”
• The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service issued guidance today aimed at increasing the use of income annuities in 401(k) plans. Plan sponsors can now voluntarily include deferred income annuities in a target-date fund used as a default investment, making it easier for employees to consider using lifetime income. Learn more by logging in to the members-only page and visiting “Pension Alerts.”

Public Policy Activities

• The Social Security Committee released an issue brief on the 2014 Social Security Trustees Report, which examines the social insurance program’s long-term solvency and states that Congress should act soon to improve the long-term financial outlook of Social Security.

Reminders

• The Rate Review Practice Note Work Group is seeking comments on its exposure draft Actuarial Practices Relating to Preparing, Reviewing, and Commenting on Rate Filings Prepared in Accordance with the Affordable Care Act for 2015 and Beyond.  Comments are due Monday, Oct. 27. Please send comments to healthanalyst@actuary.org.
• One of the most rewarding aspects of Academy membership is the opportunity to use your unique skills to meet a community need, by volunteering even just a few hours per year. The Pension Assistance List (PAL), a team of volunteer actuaries who provide professional services to consumers who have questions about their pension plans, offers such an opportunity. PAL volunteers are put in touch with a retiree or worker who has a specific issue with their pension, and are asked to offer up to four hours of free help to resolve it. The PAL is seeking more volunteers to handle the volume of requests it receives. Getting started is as simple as filling out a quick questionnaire on our website, or reaching out to volunteer coordinator Kyla Ruiz at (202) 223-8196, or ruiz@actuary.org.

Academy In the News

• The Lund Report, an independent health news site focused on Oregon’s health care system, asked Health Practice Council member Donna Novak to explain the basic principles behind risk-based capital in a subscriber-only story examining health insurance company capital reserves. Novak, who worked with the NAIC in developing the risk-based capital benchmark, explained some of the actuarial considerations involved in determining the benchmark, saying “The risks for an insurer primarily revolve around the underwriting risk, which is a function of premium claims levels. There are also other risks measured. There’s the risk of their asset portfolio [underperforming].  There is business risk, which might revolve around administrative costs.”

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