By Ted Gotsch
Policy Content and Publications Manager
Forty-five Academy volunteers, representing all five practice areas, participated in 42 meetings with congressional staff last week, marking another successful Capitol Hill Visits event where our volunteers were able to share the Academy’s policy priorities and hear directly from some of our key stakeholders about what is on their priority list for 2026.
A day after the Academy held its inaugural Spring Policy Forum featuring panels that included staff from legislative offices, congressional agencies, and trade/industry associations, members and staff from across the organization’s practice areas brought their expertise on health, retirement, climate, life, and artificial intelligence (AI) issues to their Hill discussions, serving as a sounding board for committee and lawmaker aides alike.
Academy President Patricia Matson said the event in the nation’s capital gave volunteers the opportunity to engage at what is the root of this organization—service.
“The mission of the Academy is to serve the public and the actuarial profession on items that are relevant to actuaries,” she said. “Hill visits is one of the key ways that we can inform policymakers about actuarial issues that are important to the public.”
Spencer Sadkin, who chairs the Risk Management & Financial Reporting Council’s (RMFRC) AI Subcommittee, called the event “public policy in action and a good way to give back to society. We are giving the knowledge we have as actuaries to those people who are making policy that will ultimately affect every American citizen.”
Volunteers had much to share during their full day of visits and broke up into eight different groups during the day.
- Three combined Casualty Practice Council/RMFRC groups discussed extreme weather and climate; the National Flood Insurance Program; availability and affordability of insurance; cyber risk and security; and third-party litigation funding.
- Two Health Practice Council groups talked about individual and small group markets; active benefits; Medicaid and Medicare; long-term care; health care delivery; and health equity.
- Two Retirement Practice Council groups addressed Social Security reform; lifetime income through defined contribution plan options; defined benefit plan revitalization; and retirement plan access for gig workers.
- One Life Practice Council group discussed lifetime income through annuities; pension-risk transfer; private equity ownership, and other aspects, of insurance investments; and data integrity.
All these issues are reflected within the Academy’s mega-issues, five cross-practice topics that serve as an umbrella for our policy priorities. They are further detailed in the organization’s Policy Forum.
Hill visits are just one piece of the Academy’s conversation with our federal policymakers and over the next weeks and months, our practice councils will be continuing the conversations that were held on March 10 on the Hill to provide additional expertise and share Academy publications.
Matson encouraged volunteers to get involved in next year’s Hill visits, saying it provides an opportunity for them to enhance their communication and other professional skill sets.
“This is a chance to have an impact and grow in your own career,” she said. “It is a chance to get in front of a non-actuarial audience and talk about things in a way that makes sense to the public and the policymakers’ constituents. It really is a personal development opportunity for actuaries.”
If you are interested in learning more about the Academy’s public policy work, check out this month’s Contingencies’ Policy Compass article. To learn more about the public policy work and find opportunities to volunteer, visit the Public Policy page on the Academy’s website.