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Recent Academy Activity, February 16-20, 2015

Member Litigation Update

On Feb. 13, 2015, the Academy filed this latest reply in support of our motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed by SOA Past President Mark Freedman seeking to halt the Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline (ABCD) from considering complaints against him, as initially reported in the December 2014 issue of Actuarial Update.

Recent Events

  • Representing the U.S. profession globally. The Academy’s Health Practice International Task Force and the International Actuarial Association Health Section on Wednesday held “Exploring Global Health Care Cost Drivers: Israel and the Netherlands,” the first in a new series of webinars on international drivers of health care costs. Dr. Tuvia Horev of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Rian De Jonge of the Health Practice International Task Force provided a 90-minute examination and analysis of both countries’ health care systems, with a focus on health care cost trends. A recording of the webinar is available here. The next webinar in the series, scheduled for May 13, will focus on the United States and South Africa.
  • Reserve ranges webinar: The Academy and the Casualty Actuarial Society jointly sponsored a webinar Thursday on “Reserve Ranges and the Statement of Actuarial Opinion.” Academy member Janet Duncan, a casualty actuary and lecturer at University of California, Santa Barbara, discussed the definition of reserve ranges, common approaches used to develop them, and important considerations in how to communicate with non-actuaries about them.

Save the Date

  • The Academy Capitol Forum: Meet the Experts webinar series returns March 25 with “How Did State & Local Pension Plans Become Underfunded?” Jean-Pierre Aubry, assistant director of state and local research at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, will speak. Academy Senior Pension Fellow Don Fuerst will moderate the session. Additional details on the webinar and registration will be available soon.

Academy Seeks Senior Fellows

  • The Academy is seeking two 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.

From the ASB

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

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

  • Senior Pension Fellow Don Fuerst interviewed with iHeartRadio about the financial impact of the aging of our population on major public programs and different generations. “The top concerns are aging programs like Social Security and Medicare. Both of those programs are in desperate need of reform and change so that they will be viable on a long-term basis,” said Fuerst. The interview aired on several Philadelphia-area stations. Visit the Academy Newsroom to stream or download the interview podcast.
  • Bloomberg quoted Public Plans Subcommittee Chairperson Bill Hallmark in an article examining the impact of the updated SOA mortality scale on New York’s public pension plan. Projections of the state’s pension fund liability have increased $355 million under the updated scale. “Mortality rates have been improving faster than the last study predicted,” said Hallmark. The story also ran in Buffalo News and TheDay.com.

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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