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ASB Hearing Looks at Public Pension Plan Issues
In a well-attended public hearing on public pension plans at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington this week, the Actuarial Standards Board (ASB) heard from more than a dozen actuarial and pension experts. Very diverse perspectives were offered by the many attendees interested in the funding of public plans and whether and how actuarial standards of practice (ASOPs) should address public plan funding. In addition to prepared and verbal comments, there was engagement between the attendees and the ASB in follow up questions and discussion that were widely appreciated by those in attendance. “The funding of public pension plans is a matter of significant interest to the public,” ASB Chairperson Tricia Matson said. “This input is critically important to us as we further deliberate on the need for new or revised standards of practice applicable to actuarial work in the public pension arena.” Speakers’ comments are available on ASB’s website. Further coverage will follow in the July Actuarial Update.
Recently Released
- In the July issue of HealthCheck, the Supreme Court’s King v. Burwell decision is reviewed. You can also find some of the widespread media coverage of the Academy on that case, the new Academy issue brief examining wellness initiatives in several countries, and read about several Medicare-related bills that were passed by the U.S. House of Representatives.
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From the ASB
- Last Call for Comments: Capital Adequacy Assessment for Insurers, a discussion draft developed by the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Committee of the ASB, is available for comment. The ERM Committee seeks input on a proposed ASOP that will provide guidance to actuaries involved in the preparation or review of capital adequacy assessment work for life or health insurers, property and casualty insurers, and similar entities, including the preparation or review of an Own Risk and Solvency Assessment (ORSA) report. Please send comments by July 15.
Public Policy Activities
- The Terrorism Risk Insurance Subcommittee submitted a comment letter July 6 to the NAIC on its “Terrorism Risk Insurance Supplement and Instructions” draft.
- The Academy’s Health Practice International Committee released a new issue brief July 6 that examines wellness initiatives in several different countries—India, Israel, Japan, South Africa, Mexico, the United States, and the United Kingdom—and explores some of the results and implications from these case studies.
Upcoming Events
- New Seminar: Register Now to Learn All About VM-20 and PBR: Make plans to attend this seminar on implementation of life principle-based reserve requirements, to be held Sept. 2 in Boston. “Vrmm, Vrmm, VM-20 — Start Your Engines, The Race to the PBR Finish Line Is On!” will offer practical examples of how to implement the new requirements; sessions outlining the basics of performing a VM-20 calculation, ideal for those with little to no understanding of the VM-20 requirements; and advanced sessions focusing on complex VM-20 requirements and strategies to successfully implement VM-20. The seminar follows the 2015 Valuation Actuary Symposium, also in Boston. Discount registrations are available through July 31.
- Reminder: Register Now for Professionalism Webinar on Modeling: Much actuarial work involves modeling of some type. Recognizing that the number and importance of modeling applications in actuarial science is increasing, the ASB has developed two exposure drafts of an ASOP intended to address modeling applications in all practice areas.
Join the Academy on July 22 when expert presenters will engage in a mock debate to provide different perspectives on issues raised in the comments on the draft modeling standard. Presenters include ASB Chairperson Tricia Matson; Shawna Ackerman, vice president for casualty and chairperson of the ASB Catastrophe Modeling Task Force; and Mary Simmons, member of the ASB General Committee and member of the ASB Data Quality Task Force. Academy General Counsel and Director of Professionalism Keith Jones will moderate.
- Webinar: Register Now for International Insurer Capital Standards: Join us on Aug. 4 as members of the Academy’s Solvency Committee provide a detailed look at the International Association of Insurance Supervisors’ (IAIS) insurer capital standard, including the finalized basic capital requirement, the proposed insurance capital standard, and the proposed higher loss absorbency requirement.
The IAIS is developing group solvency and capital standards that could have a profound effect on global systemically important insurers and internationally active insurance groups, including several U.S. insurers.
The webinar will provide an overview of the Solvency Committee’s basic solvency principles for domestic and international policymakers developing capital standards and an in-depth examination of the IAIS’s activities related to insurer capital standards. Ned Tyrell, international technical policy advisor of the NAIC, joins fellow members of the Solvency Committee Novian Junus and Henry Siegel as presenters. Solvency Committee Chairperson Elizabeth Brill will moderate. Register now.
- Registration continues for the 2015 Life and Health Qualifications Seminar, to be held Nov. 9-12 in Arlington, Va. (metropolitan Washington). See why so many of your peers find this seminar the most succinct and effective way to acquire the required basic education and continuing education to assist in being qualified to sign statements of actuarial opinion for NAIC life and health annual statements for those who may not have met the basic education requirements set forth in Section 3.1.1 of the U.S. Qualification Standards.
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In the News
- A July 2 Bloomberg BNA subscriber-only story reporting on new 2015 enrollment estimates for the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) small business exchanges cites the Academy’s issue brief, Potential Implications of the Small Group Definition Expanding to Employers With 51-100 Employees. The story notes the Academy’s analysis that companies with 51 to 100 workers are likely to see higher premiums if their workforce is younger and healthier and lower premiums if their workforce is older and sicker under ACA provisions scheduled to begin in 2016. A July 8 Bloomberg BNA subscriber-only story also cites the Academy’s brief in a story about ACA rules affecting mid-size employers.
- WFSU, the National Public Radio affiliate for northern Florida and southern Georgia, mentions the ASB in a report about a study released by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, which ranks U.S. states by order of financial health. In explaining how pension health factored into the rankings, the story reports that, “most states rely on the Government Accountability Standards Board and the Actuarial Standards Board to set the tone for pension calculations.”
- Columbus Business News cited the Academy’s issue brief, The 80% Pension Funding Standard Myth, in a subscriber-only story examining potential flaws in how studies evaluate state pension systems.
- A Business and Pensions Monitor story discusses the Academy’s new aging initiative, under which the Academy is providing resources that contribute to a productive national policy discussion on aging.
- A July 8 opinion piece in the Greeneville News (S.C.) about what was at stake in the King v. Burwell case before the Supreme Court refers to the Academy’s issue brief, Implications of Proposed Changes to the ACA in Response to King v. Burwell, which laid out possible consequences of subsides in states participating in the federally facilitated marketplace being ruled illegal.
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