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Recent Academy Activity, February 9-13, 2015

Newly Released

HealthCheck: In this month’s HealthCheck, read about legislation that could change who is considered a full-time employee under the Affordable Care Act, the final 2016 actuarial value (AV) calculator, and the Congressional Budget Office’s federal budget projections through 2025.

Academy Seeks Senior Fellows

  • The Academy is seeking a pair of senior fellows to help communicate the Academy’s message on property/casualty and pension actuarial issues to the public and to policymakers. Our fellows work with practice councils, interact directly with federal and state regulatory and legislative officials, and communicate with the media about new developments in their fields. For more information and details on how to apply, see the job listings for Senior Pension Fellow and Senior Property and Casualty Fellow on the Academy website.

Reminder From the ASB

  • The deadline to comment on the ASB’s second exposure draft of a proposed ASOP on Modeling is March 1. 

Alert

  • Some U.S. senators are questioning President Obama’s legal authority to implement flood standards that were promulgated by executive order on Jan. 30. Read the alert here or in the member section under “Casualty Alerts.”

Upcoming Events

  • Next week: Representing the U.S. profession globally. Time is running out to register for our Feb. 18 webinar, “Exploring Global Health Care Cost Drivers: Israel and the Netherlands,” the first 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: Next Thursday, Feb. 19, the Academy and the Casualty Actuarial Society will host a webinar on “Reserve Ranges and the SAO.” 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, or log in now to pay your dues or print your invoice.

Academy in the News

  • The Military Times reached out to Senior Pension Fellow Don Fuerst for comments on recommendations made in the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission’s new report on military retirement systems. Fuerst provided perspective on how discounts rates are applied in actuarial analysis, and recommended that actuarial procedures for determining present-day value and lump-sum payments be defined by statute. Fuerst expressed surprise at the 12.7 percent discount rate the report used, saying, “Twelve percent! My gosh, that is an outrageous rate to use for something like that.”
  • An AdviceIQ column on why retirement planning is particularly important for women cites former Academy Social Security Committee Chairperson Janet Barr’s Dec. 9 testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance hearing, “Social Security: Is a Key Foundation of Economic Security Working for Women?” The column notes that longer life spans and lower lifetime incomes put women at greater risk of financial insecurity in retirement. The column also ran in Insurance News Net and the (Minnesota) Sun Post, and Working Woman Report.

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.

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