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Volunteer Action Required: Committing on an annual basis to professional objectivity is required to perform volunteer work for the Academy. That’s why the Academy today emailed each volunteer a request to submit a conflict of interest (COI) acknowledgement and continuing education (CE) attestation. Interested parties must also acknowledge the COI policy. To comply, follow the instructions in the email or on the membership page under “COI and CE Acknowledgement.”
Upcoming Events
- Representing the U.S. profession globally. Join us on Feb. 18 for “Exploring Global Health Care Cost Drivers: Israel and the Netherlands,” the first webinar in a new series on international drivers of health care costs. This session will provide a unique opportunity to learn about the successes and challenges that Israel and the Netherlands have experienced as they’ve worked to identify and address particular cost drivers. Dr. Tuvia Horev of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Rian De Jonge of the Academy’s Health Practice International Task Force will provide a 90-minute examination and analysis of both countries’ health care systems, with a focus on health care cost trends.
- Register now to attend “Reserve Ranges and the SAO,” a webinar hosted jointly by the Academy and the Casualty Actuarial Society, on Feb. 19. Janet Duncan, casualty actuary and lecturer at University of California, Santa Barbara, will lead a discussion on the important actuarial considerations and disclosures for preparing a reserve range in support of U.S. statutory opinions and actuarial central estimates. Please direct questions regarding webinar content and registration to CAS at meetings@casact.org.
Newly Released
- The Academy has published a new Essential Elements paper, Climate Change, on the increased losses borne by businesses, homeowners, and insurers caused by hurricanes, severe storms, tornadoes, and other weather events. The Essential Elements series is designed to make actuarial analyses of public-policy issues clearer to general audiences.
- Annual Meeting Highlights—The Academy’s Annual Meeting and Public Policy Forum in November featured prominent speakers like former Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and NAIC head Ben Nelson, honors for Academy volunteers, and cutting-edge education sessions on breaking topics in each major practice area. The Academy has compiled highlights of the event, available on its website.
Academy Seeks Senior Pension Fellow
- The Academy is currently seeking a senior pension fellow to advance the Academy’s work on behalf of the profession and the public on issues relating to retirement income security. The fellow will work with the Pension Practice Council, Academy staff and Academy leadership to establish the Academy’s short- and long-term goals around retirement income security. The Academy’s current senior pension fellow, Donald Fuerst, will be retiring later this year. Please click here for more information and details on how to apply.
Alert
- The Pension Benefits Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) on Jan. 29 responded to a letter from the Academy’s Pension Committee regarding the determination of pension benefits in standard terminations. Learn more by logging in to the members-only section and visiting “Pension Alerts.”
2014 P/C Loss Reserve and 2015 Life and Health Valuation Law Manuals Now Available
Reminder
- Membership dues are due Jan. 1 every year. Click here to pay online. Log in now to pay your dues, print your invoice, or to update your profile.
Public Policy Activities
- Senior Pension Fellow Don Fuerst represented the Academy in the roundtable discussion “The Link Between Retirement Security and Long-Term Care,” hosted by the National Academy of Social Insurance. The panel discussion focused on improving long-term care financing and security—a growing issue for retirees. Presentation slides from the roundtable can be downloaded here.
- The Life Capital Adequacy Committee sent a comment letter to the NAIC Life Risk-Based Capital Working Group regarding exposure drafts related to the XXX/AXXX reinsurance framework.
- The Stress Testing Work Group submitted a comment letter to the NAIC Stress Testing Subgroup regarding the stress testing proposal as an outline for field testing.
Academy in the News
- A blog post by the Pension Rights Center asks President Obama to consider supporting aspects of two retirement plans featured in the recently released Retirement for the AGES assessments—the New Brunswick Shared Risk Pension Model and the USA Retirement Funds proposal. The post mentions that both models received positive reviews from the Academy using the AGES assessment principles.
A Note on Our Publications
- Academy publications are designed to serve you. With that in mind, we’re gauging interest in making available printed copies of our publications. If you would find such an offering valuable, please email editor@actuary.org with your thoughts. And thank you for reading.
Note: Some links in this email go to external websites and may require registration. The Academy is not responsible for the content of these websites. Links may expire.
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