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Recent Academy Activity, February 2-6, 2015

International Capital Standards

The Solvency Committee of the Risk Management and Financial Reporting Council submitted comments to the International Association of Insurance Supervisors on the Risk-based Global Insurance Capital Standard public consultation document.

Newly Released

  • Actuarial Update: Read Vice President for Professionalism Ken Kent’s article on why volunteers need to (and must) acknowledge the Academy’s conflict of interest (COI) policy. There are also stories on a recap of 2014 legislative and regulatory changes relevant to actuarial work, links to the newly released 2014 Property/Casualty Loss Reserve and 2015 Life and Health Valuation law manuals, and a look at the role of the actuary in an Own Risk and Solvency Assessment (ORSA).

Volunteer Action Required

  • As pointed out in Ken Kent’s article in the Update, committing on an annual basis to professional objectivity is required to perform volunteer work for the Academy. That’s why the Academy recently emailed each volunteer a request to submit a conflict of interest 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.”

Academy Seeks Senior Fellows

  • The Academy is seeking a senior property and casualty fellow to help communicate the Academy’s message on casualty actuarial issues to the public and to public policymakers. The Senior Property and Casualty fellow interacts directly with federal and state regulatory and legislative officials, other public policy stakeholders, and the media on property and casualty insurance topics. Please click here for more information and details on how to apply.
  • The Academy is 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 soon be retiring. Please click here for more information and details on how to apply.

Alerts

  • The Financial Stability Oversight Council this week announced the adoption of three reforms to its process for designating a company a systemically important financial institution (SIFI). The changes are intended to increase transparency and improve public and financial institutions’ understanding of the process. Learn more by logging in to the members-only section and visiting “Cross-Practice Alerts.”
  • The Treasury’s Federal Insurance Office has released interim guidance on the implementation of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2015, which was signed into law on Jan. 12. Learn more by logging in to the members-only section and visiting “Casualty Alerts.”
  • The Obama administration released its Fiscal Year 2016 Budget on Monday, which includes provisions addressing the sustainability of Medicare and Medicaid programs, retirement security, climate change, and financial stability. Learn more by logging in to the members-only section and visiting “Cross-Practice Alerts.”
  • The Employee Benefits Security Administration issued a final rule Monday requiring annual funding notices for single-employer defined benefit plan sponsors covered by ERISA. Learn more by logging in to the members-only section and visiting “Pension Alerts.”
  • The U.S. House of Representatives passed a full repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) this week with H.R. 596, the first ACA repeal legislation of the 114th Congress. The bill also mandates that the four committees of jurisdiction in the House consider options to replace the ACA. Learn more by logging in to the members-only section and visiting “Health Alerts.”

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 jointly sponsored by the Academy’s Health Practice International Task Force and the International Actuarial Association Health Section. 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.

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

  • The Casualty Practice Council submitted comments to the Actuarial Standards Board on an exposure draft of a proposed actuarial standard of practice, “Property/Casualty Ratemaking.”
  • The Casualty Practice Council also submitted comments on the CAS exposure draft, “Statements of Principles Regarding Property and Casualty Insurance Ratemaking.” The comments include suggested revisions to the discussion draft’s scope and purpose, intended measure, as well as other areas.
  • The Pension Committee sent a comment letter to the IRS regarding the use of mortality tables to calculate pension funding requirements for the years after 2015.
  • In another letter to the IRS, the Pension Committee submitted comments on potential improvements in the operation of Internal Revenue Code Section 436 while still protecting the funded status of pension plans. The recommendations address timing, application and avoidance rules of benefit restrictions, and conflicts with collective bargaining agreements.

Academy in the News

  • An Alexandria (Va.) News story reports on a statement issued by Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) following the release of the Academy’s latest Essential Elements paper on the property/casualty costs of climate change. “This sobering report is just the latest barometer of the long-term effects of global climate change in North America,” said Beyer, who serves on the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources and Science, Space, and Technology. The paper was also mentioned in a Minnesota Public Radio Climate News report. Visit the Essential Elements homepage to read this and other papers in the series.
  • The Academy’s assessment of the New Brunswick Shared Risk Model was cited by Yahoo Finance and other outlets in Canada reporting on a new retirement security report from Canada’s Public Policy Forum. The story noted the assessment under the Retirement for the AGES principles as an achievement in ongoing work toward assuring retirement security in Canada.

System Upgrade to Affect Directory of Actuarial Membership

  • A system upgrade is being performed on the Directory of Actuarial Memberships on Feb. 6-8. The directory will be unavailable from 1:00 p.m. EST on Friday, Feb. 6, until 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, Feb. 8. Visitors attempting to access the directory during this upgrade period will receive a maintenance message from the host.

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.

Correction: Last week’s edition of This Week referenced a roundtable discussion at the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI) that featured Senior Pension Fellow Donald Fuerst, but incorrectly provided a summarization of the presentation he gave in 2014. The topic he presented on at the 2015 NASI meeting was The Link Between Retirement Security and Long-Term Care. We regret the error.

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