The Pension Committee released a public policy practice note to provide information to actuaries on current and emerging practices for measuring obligations of defined benefit pension plans that include variable annuity benefits.

The PBR Checklist Task Force released a document—“What is PBR for Life Insurance?”—just a few months before the Jan. 1 deadline for companies to adhere to the principle-based reserving (PBR) requirements under the Valuation Manual Section 20 (VM-20), that provides a summary of the significant elements of PBR.

The Casualty Practice Council sent comment letters to the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services and to the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs encouraging long-term extension of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act.

The Lifetime Income Risk Joint Committee released an issue brief, Actuarial Observations on Retiree Income Approaches, on how actuarial methods and solutions apply to the risk management inherent to retirement income planning. Released in conjunction with the relaunch of the Academy’s and Society of Actuaries’ jointly developed Actuaries Longevity Illustrator, the issue brief provides a helpful overview and context for understanding how these tools can be used to mitigate risk and optimize retirement income.

The Individual and Small Group Markets Committee sent comments to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on rules finalized in the 2020 Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters (NBPP) concerning risk adjustment data validation (RADV)-related transfers.

Members of the Telehealth Work Group presented on the topic of telehealth along with the debut of their new issue brief with moderator Cori Uccello, senior health fellow, to a policy audience of Capitol hill staff.

The P/C Extreme Events and Property Lines Committee has released an updated monograph on the National Flood Insurance Program. Building on the 2017 document prepared by the Flood Insurance Work Group, the paper includes data from the 2017 and 2018 hurricane seasons.

The Financial Reporting Committee sent a letter to the International Accounting Standards Board regarding the exposed amendments to International Financial Reporting Standard 17.

The Telehealth Work Group has released a new issue brief exploring the perspectives of the patients and providers, while also analyzing the financial, legal and regulatory aspects associated with telehealth.

The Life Experience Committee sent a report to the NAIC Life Actuarial (A) Task Force outlining the 2019 individual life insurance mortality improvement recommendation for use with AG 38 and VM-20. 

The Life Capital Adequacy Committee sent a comment letter to the NAIC Life Risk-Based Capital Working Group on the requirements for long-horizon equity investments exposure. 

The Pension Practice Council released an issue brief, Pension Plan Maturity—Why Big Plans Mean Big Risk, that reviews measures of plan maturity, examines the resulting challenges, addresses potential strategies to ensure benefit security, and provides a framework to mitigate the risks associated with a mature plan.

The Academy’s Committee on Property and Liability Financial Reporting (COPLFR) sent a comment letter to the NAIC’s Casualty Actuarial and Statistical Task Force Actuarial Opinion Working Group (AOWG) on the Regulatory Guidance on Property and Casualty Statutory Statements of Actuarial Opinion, Actuarial Opinion Summaries, and Actuarial Reports for the Year 2019, which was issued on Aug. 30. COPLFR also sent a second comment letter to the AOWG on the Sept. 17 revision of the guidance document.

Jason Kehrberg, chairperson of the YRT Field Test Project Oversight Group, provided an update on Sept. 12 NAIC Life Actuarial (A) Task force call. 

The Lifetime Income Risk Joint Committee sent a letter to the Employee Benefits Security Administration providing comments on the ERISA Advisory Council Report. 

The Health Practice Council released an issue brief, Surprise Medical Bills: An Overview of the Problem and Approaches to Address It, providing an overview of the surprise-billing problem and insights on approaches how to address it. Read the news release.

The Longevity Risk Task Force submitted a comment letter to the NAIC Longevity Risk (A/E) Subgroup providing additional assumption sensitivities to the proposed longevity C-2 risk factors. 

The Pension Committee, Multiemployer Plans Committee, and Public Plans Committee submitted comments to the Actuarial Standards Board regarding exposure drafts of Actuarial Standard of Practice Nos. 27 and 35.

The Multiemployer Plans Committee of the American Academy of Actuaries released notes from its March 2019 meeting with representatives of the U.S. Department of Treasury, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), and the Department of Labor (DOL) pertaining to applications by plans in critical and declining status to suspend benefits or partition liabilities as permitted under the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014, withdrawal liability, mergers and transfers, and possible multiemployer pension reform legislation.

The Life Illustrations Work Group submitted a comment letter to the NAIC IUL Illustration (A) Subgroup providing answers to questions on the illustrations of Indexed Universal Life products under AG 49.