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RECENT ACADEMY ACTIVITY | | |
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Only have a minute? Catch up on this week’s top stories with the latest “This Week … In a Minute” video. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to receive alerts as they are released. | |
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This Week—A Focus on Public Policy | | |
Social Security, Medicare Trustees’ Reports Released; Webinar Next Week | | |
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The 2026 Social Security and Medicare trustees’ reports were released on Tuesday. Social Security’s Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund will be able to pay 100% of scheduled benefits until the fourth quarter of 2032, one quarter earlier than projected last year. Reserves will then become depleted, and continuing program income will be sufficient to pay 78% of scheduled benefits. The Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Fund is projected to be able to pay 100% of total scheduled benefits through at least 2100, the report stated. Medicare’s Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Fund will be able to pay 100% of benefits until the second quarter of 2033, one quarter earlier than projected last year. At that point, that fund’s reserves will become will be sufficient to pay 89% of scheduled benefits. The Supplementary Medical Insurance (SMI) Trust Fund is adequately financed into the indefinite future because, unlike other trust funds, its main financing sources are adjusted annually to cover costs for the upcoming year. ▶ Alert, issue briefs—An Academy alert (member login required) offers more details on the reports, and the Health Practice Council (HPC) and Retirement Practice Council (RPC) are preparing issue briefs on the reports, which will be released soon. ▶ Social Security Webinar June 15—The RPC will hold a free webinar on the Social Security report on Monday, June 15, featuring Social Security Administration (SSA) Chief Actuary Karen Glenn and two members of SSA’s actuarial services division. Social Security Committee Chairperson Sam Gutterman will moderate the webinar, which will run from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. EDT. Register today. | | |
Issue Briefs Cover AI & Pensions, Potential P/C Insurance Bias | | |
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New Academy issue briefs cover artificial intelligence (AI) and potential bias in P/C insurance. ▶ AI in Insurance and Pension—An AI, Data Science, and Analytics Committee (ADAC; formerly the Data Science and Analytics Committee) issue brief, AI Use Cases in Insurance and Pension, explores the expanding range of applications through which AI and machine-learning systems are being utilized in core insurance and pension operations. The issue brief highlights that as AI becomes further embedded in insurance practices, it is essential to ensure human oversight and accountability. ▶ Potential P/C Bias—The P/C Committee on Equity and Fairness released an issue brief, Potential Bias in Marketing and Underwriting Practices in Property and Casualty Insurance: Implications for Pricing Actuaries. It examines how unintentional bias can be introduced in the marketing and underwriting process, and how pricing actuaries can integrate fairness considerations into their work.
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Actuarially Sound Blog Post Examines Gig Workers and Retirement | | |
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With millions of Americans doing gig work—including occupations such as freelance writers, rideshare drivers, or self-employed business owners—an Actuarially Sound blog post highlights an RPC issue brief on gig workers and retirement security, sharing how the Academy is informing public policymakers about the issue.
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Register for the August VM-22 Forum in Denver The Academy’s August VM-22 Practitioners Forum is designed for life actuaries who are past the introductory phase and ready to sharpen their understanding of VM-22 by connecting with peers navigating the same terrain. The forum will be held on Aug. 26 in Denver, following the SOA ValAct meeting. Register today. | | |
Public Policy in Brief- The cross-practice Risk-Based Capital (RBC) Task Force submitted comments on the NAIC’s exposure of proposed revisions to the RBC Preamble.
- The HPC responded to a question from a member of the Texas House Select Committee on Health Care Affordability, which the Academy testified before on May 1.
- The Retirement Policy and Design Evaluation Committee and the Defined Contribution Subcommittee submitted comments to the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) on EBSA’s proposed rule, Fiduciary Duties in Selecting Designated Investment Alternatives, focusing on longevity risk-sharing pools and evaluating fees and value of insured products.
- The Pension Committee submitted comments to the IRS on the agency’s 2026-2027 Priority Guidance Plan suggesting areas of focus including the Employee Plan Compliance Resolution System as revised under the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022.
- The Annuity Reserves and Capital Subcommittee submitted comments to the NAIC’s Life Actuarial (A) Task Force on VM-22 Application to GICs, Funding Agreements, SGICs, and Stable Value Contracts.
Resource Center—Visit the Resource Center to stay on top of the latest Academy news and activity. | | |
Academy Outreach Academy Offers Health Perspective at Inaugural FIMCON | | |
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Sheppard (right) presents at FIMCON | | | |
Health Equity Committee (HEC) Chairperson Becky Sheppard represented the Academy, bringing an actuarial perspective to a June 1 panel discussion at FIMCON, a new “Food Is Medicine” conference held in Washington, D.C. In “Advancing & Sustaining Food Is Medicine Through a Value-Based Care Lens,” Sheppard shared and discussed the HEC’s holistic, principles-based “Broadening the Focus” framework unveiled in April for evaluating health care programs and benefits, which complements traditional financial metrics and program evaluations. This week’s outreach included: ▶ ADAC Co-Chairperson Maggie Ruzicka presented “Takeaways from the Academy’s Work on Algorithmic Bias” virtually to the Actuaries’ Club of the Southwest on Tuesday. Ruzicka’s talk focused on the recent policy paper, A Foundational Study of Algorithmic Bias, exploring the meaning of algorithmic bias, its real-world impacts, harm mitigation, and regulatory response. ▶ Also on Tuesday, past Actuarial Standards Board (ASB) Chairperson Robert Damler spoke at a meeting of the Cincinnati Actuarial Club, giving an overview and update on actuarial standards of practice (ASOPs) and a deeper look into the value of the ASOPs through activities such as commenting on exposure drafts and volunteering opportunities that support standards review and development. His live polling of audience members on ASOPs and related topics included new questions about how actuaries use the Applicability Guidelines, which help actuaries identify which ASOPs might provide guidance on more common assignments.
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Medicaid Webinar Next Week Medicaid Committee members will present in a June 16 webinar, Enhancing Medicaid Risk Adjustment: Insights from the New Practice Note, examining the committee’s practice note addressing actuarial services involving the application of risk adjustment models within Medicaid managed-care programs. Register today. ‘Academy Meets Academia’ Webinar Series Kicks Off The inaugural webinar in the “Academy Meets Academia” series—a new initiative from the Research Committee—was held Wednesday. Racial Differences in Life Insurance covered a working paper authored by four professors of risk management and insurance and included a conversation between the authors and leadership from the Life Practice Council. The series will focus on issues of relevance to the casualty, health, life, and retirement practice areas, connecting innovative academic research with Academy volunteers. Watch a replay on Academy Learning. Upcoming Webinars—Natural Disaster Risk & Resilience The Academy will hold a two-part webinar series highlighting the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers, made up of academic researchers who work with an industry-led advisory board to evaluate research projects. The June 22 and July 14 webinars will feature speakers from NSF, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and leading university climate professors. ▶ Register for the June 22 webinar. ▶ Register for the July 14 webinar. | | |
Next Week—Academy Leadership at CIA Annual Meeting Academy President Tricia Matson, President-Elect Frank Todisco, and Executive Director Bill Michalisin will attend the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA) annual meeting next week in Calgary. The June 15–16 event will include an AI workshop, property/casualty streams, and speakers from all practice areas. Professionalism Webinar Covers ABCD’s Roles Friday’s professionalism webinar, The Role of the ABCD, covered the Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline’s (ABCD) two important core functions of providing confidential guidance to actuaries navigating tricky professional situations through requests for guidance (RFGs), and investigating conduct that may fall short of professionalism standards. ABCD Chairperson William Hines and Vice Chairperson Shawna Ackerman presented, and Academy President Tricia Matson moderated. A replay will be available soon on Academy Learning. ▶ July Webinar to Examine Bias—Mark your calendar for the Academy’s next professionalism webinar, Algorithmic Bias: It’s There, So What’s Being Done About It? The July 22 webinar will feature presenting ADAC members and will be moderated by Director of Professionalism and General Counsel Brian Jackson. Register today. | | |
Academy in the News - C1 Subcommittee Chairperson Stephen Smith spoke with Best’s Review about the Academy’s work with the NAIC for a June feature story on the NAIC’s activities surrounding insurance asset risk and governance.
- A retirement planning discussion on Salt Lake City talk radio station KSL-AM used data from the Actuaries Longevity Illustrator, jointly sponsored by the Academy and the Society of Actuaries, to illustrate longevity risk. The discussion drew on an April New York Times article that ran in the Seattle Times this week.
- Speaker comments at the Academy’s May Insurance Investment Summit were cited in a Life Annuity Specialist (subscriber-only) story on insurer yields on private credit.
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