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Recent Academy Activity, May 4-8, 2015

Learn about key results from the cross-practice ethical survey by the Academy during our May 22 webinar, “Key Ethical Concerns Facing the Actuarial Profession: Perceptions of Members of the American Academy of Actuaries.” Academy professionalism experts, including Vice President of Professionalism Kenneth Kent, former Council on Professionalism Chairperson Karen Terry, and Academy Assistant General Counsel Sheila Kalkunte will discuss the survey content and ethical concerns identified by over 3,300 Academy members from all practice areas who participated in the survey. The webinar, which will start at noon EDT, constitutes “ethics” continuing education under the Joint Board for the Enrollment of Actuaries’ regulations.

Earn CE At Your Convenience Through the New Actuarial eLearning Center

  • The Academy’s Actuarial eLearning Center, announced this week, provides members with an opportunity to earn continuing education (CE) credit described in the U.S. Qualification Standards (USQS) at their convenience through a unique, substantive online course, “Understand the Code of Professional Conduct,” which includes an optional final examination to test your knowledge. Once members have registered at the center, they may return at any time for one year to review the course at their leisure and may obtain a certificate of achievement after successfully taking the exam.

PBGC Reopens Visiting Actuary Program, Invites Applications from Academy Members

  • The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is reopening its Visiting Actuary program with an invitation to Academy members who have relevant experience and a desire to perform public service to apply for a paid position focused on the implementation and interpretation of the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act (MPRA) and emerging multiemployer policy and legislation. The agency is looking for a senior multiemployer consulting actuary who will have the ability to contribute at a senior level within the agency during a time of great change for multiemployer plans. The position reports directly to the head of the Policy, Research and Analysis Department and is anticipated to have broad exposure to senior leaders throughout the agency and other agencies involved in implementation of MPRA. The Visiting Actuary program has provided opportunities for practitioners to take a year or two and contribute their knowledge, experience and ideas to ensure that regulation and policy reflect a sound understanding of practice. After the Visiting Actuary term is up, many actuaries have remained in public service while others have returned to the private sector.

Public Policy Activities

  • William Hines, vice president of the Risk Management and Financial Reporting Council, gave a presentation to the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) on modeling for insurance capital standards.
  • On May 5, the U.S. Senate adopted a budget conference report previously passed by the House that establishes a general framework that appropriators will use to craft spending bills for fiscal year 2016. The report, which is a set of policy recommendations for appropriators that is not sent to President Obama, calls for cuts of more than $5 trillion to balance the budget in 10 years and adherence to the spending cap imposed under sequestration, and sets a legislative path to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Read more here or in the member section under “Health Alerts.”

Other Upcoming Events

  • International health care costs: The Academy’s international webinar series on health care costs continues on May 13 at 9:30 a.m. EDT with “Exploring Global Health Care Cost Drivers: South Africa and the United States.” Join the Academy’s Health Practice Council and the International Actuarial Association (IAA) for this second webinar in the series, which will provide a unique opportunity to learn about the successes and challenges that both South Africa and the United States have experienced as they’ve worked to identify and address particular cost drivers. No fee is charged for Academy members or members of the IAA’s health section.
  • International insurance regulation: Join us at 2 p.m. EDT on May 22 for “International Insurance Regulation 101,” an Academy Capitol Forum webinar focused on the important international regulatory role of the IAIS. The IAIS is the standard-setting body responsible for developing and assisting in the implementation of principles, standards, and other supporting material for the supervision of the insurance sector internationally. Deputy Secretary General of the IAIS George Brady will provide an overview of the IAIS and its activities, and help participants navigate the acronym alphabet soup surrounding international insurance regulation.
  • Casualty Loss Reserve Seminar: The 2015 Casualty Loss Reserve Seminar (CLRS) and Workshops, jointly sponsored by the Academy and the Casualty Actuarial Society, will be held Sept. 9-11 at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center in Atlanta, Ga. Attend the 2015 CLRS to stay current and learn from expert analysis of innovation in reserving. For more information on attendee registration, please email arc@casact.org or visit the CLRS website.
  • Registration continues for the 2015 Life and Health Qualifications Seminar, to be held Nov. 9-12 in Arlington, Va. (metropolitan Washington, D.C.). See why so many of your peers find this seminar the most succinct and effective way to acquire the required basic education and CE to assist in being qualified to sign NAIC annual statement life and health actuarial opinions for those who may not have met the basic education requirements set forth in Section 3.1.1 of the USQS.

In the News

  • FederalNewsRadio.com noted that appointees of the newly established Civil Service Retirement System Board of Actuaries who will advise the Office of Personnel Management will be members of the Academy “qualified under actuarial standards of practice to issue a statement of actuarial opinion on defined benefit retirement plans.” Fierce Government also covered the story.
  • An Eagle Tribune (North Andover, Mass.) story includes Academy analysis of trends in the types of retirement plans offered by employers: “According to the American Academy of Actuaries, ‘In 1980, 84 percent of workers in medium and large organizations were covered by defined benefit plans. In 2010 only 30 percent were.’” The article is the first in a series exploring the state of the U.S. retirement system.
  • Benefitslink.com posted a link to the May/June Contingencies feature story, “Look to the North for a Better Approach to Financing Social Security.”

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.