The Individual and Small Group Markets Committee released its annual issue brief laying out the factors underlying premium rate setting and highlighting the major components driving premium changes in the individual and small group markets for 2024.

The Data Science and Analytics Committee (DSAC) released an issue brief, An Actuarial View of Data Bias: Definitions, Impacts and Considerations. The issue brief—the first in a new DSAC series called “Additional Considerations in Data Science”—looks at the key types of data bias that actuaries may encounter and focuses on the kinds of biases found in modeling data and the implications for algorithmic outcomes. 

Academy Senior Life Fellow Nancy Bennett and Paul Navratil, chairperson of the Life Investment and Capital Adequacy Committee, presented to the U.S. Department of Labor’s ERISA Advisory Council public meeting on pension risk transfers on July 18. They gave an overview of life insurance regulations focused on the regulatory framework governing solvency requirements, including the establishment of liabilities and required capital for benefit obligations that are the result of a pension risk transfer. Additionally, the Academy submitted the Pension Committee’s recent issue brief, Buy-Out Group Annuity  Purchase Primer, for the meeting record as a resource on “buy-out” annuity contract transactions from a pension actuarial perspective.

The Committee on Cyber Risk released a new chapter in the Cyber Risk Toolkit, "Digital Assets and Their Current Roles Within Cybercrime." The paper seeks to provide a baseline understanding of digital assets for insurance industry practitioners whose lines of business may interact with digital assets and highlight recent trends surrounding their use within cybercrime.

Academy Senior Health Fellow Cori Uccello presented on “Considerations for Calculating Cost-Sharing Reduction Load Factors” at the Society of Actuaries’ virtual health meeting.

The Health Solvency Subcommittee’s Health Underwriting Risk Factors Analysis Work Group sent a letter updating the NAIC’s Health Risk-Based Capital (E) Working Group (HRBC) on progress on the NAIC’s request to comprehensively review the H2—Underwriting Risk Component and the Managed Care Credit Calculation included in the HRBC formula.

The Life Index-Linked Variable Annuity (ILVA) Work Group submitted a comment letter to the ILVA Subgroup of the Product Standard Committee Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Commission on 2023 Compact Requirements for ILVA Products.

The P/C Extreme Events and Property Lines Committee submitted a comment letter to the California Department of Insurance for the Department's upcoming public workshop on Catastrophe Modeling and Insurance. 

The Pension Committee released an issue brief focusing on “buy-out” annuity contract transactions, one of the ways pension plan sponsors transfer pension payment responsibilities and associated risks to other parties.

The Health Practice Council’s Medicaid Committee submitted a comment letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Managed Care Access, Finance, and Quality (Managed Care NPRM).

The Lifetime Income Joint Risk Committee released Experience-Sharing Lifetime Income (ESLI), an issue brief considering a retirement income concept now being used in many other countries, which shares features of both lifetime annuities and structured drawdowns.

Academy Health Equity Committee Vice Chairperson Stacey Lampkin presented to the Southeastern Actuaries Conference (SEAC) on the committee’s ongoing work on health equity, including the upcoming 2023 workshops and symposium focusing on the intersection of benefit design and health equity.

The Pension Committee released a practice note, Selecting and Documenting Pension Assumptions Other Than Discount Rate, Investment Return, and Mortality, updating a 2009 practice note, revised to reflect updated actuarial standards of practice (ASOPs), including changes in ASOP Nos. 27 and 35 that are effective for actuarial reports issued on or after Aug. 1, 2021, and when the measurement date in such reports is on or after Aug. 1, 2021.

The Life Reserves Work Group submitted a comment letter to the NAIC’s Life Actuarial (A) Task Force (LATF) on the extended April 20 exposure of APF 2023-06.

The Pension Committee, Multiemployer Plans Committee, and Public Plans Committee submitted comments to the Actuarial Standards Board regarding the exposure draft of the proposed revision of Actuarial Standard of Practice (ASOP) No. 27, Selection of Assumptions for Measuring Pension Obligations and the repeal of ASOP No. 35, Selection of Demographic and Other Noneconomic Assumptions for Measuring Pension Obligations.

The Committee on Property Liability and Financial Reporting (COPLFR) submitted a comment letter to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on an exposure on Micro-Captive Listed Transactions and Micro-Captive Transactions of Interest. 

The Life Experience Committee released a Resource and Discussion Guide on an Actuarial Review of Investments in Actuarial Modeling.

The Life Valuation Committee submitted a comment letter to the NAIC’s Life Actuarial (A) Task Force on the Optional AOM and PBR Actuarial Reporting Template for Interest Maintenance Reserve.

The Life Valuation Committee submitted a comment letter to the NAIC’s Statutory Accounting Principles Working Group on 2023 Net Negative (Disallowed) Interest Maintenance Reserve (INT 23-01T).

A public policy paper released by the Academy’s Climate Change Joint Committee, Climate Risks Pose Broad Impacts on Financial Security Systems, looks at the effects of a changing climate across all practice areas. The paper provides actuaries with a practical guide for considering a broad range of impacts that climate change may have on their work.