The Academy updated its Essential Elements reports on Medicare’s Long-Term Sustainability Challenge and Securing Social Security with information from the newly released 2015 Medicare and Social Security trustees reports. The Essential Elements series is designed to make actuarial analyses of public policy issues clearer to general audiences.
( )The Lifetime Income Risk Task Force submitted comments to the Department of Labor regarding the proposed regulations defining fiduciaries and conflict of interest.
The Pension Committee submitted comments to the IRS regarding the timing for release of the mortality tables under §§430(h)(3) and 417(e) of the Internal Revenue Code for 2016.
( )Two Academy members participated in the NAIC Center for Insurance Policy and Research (CIPR) Symposium on retirement issues earlier this week. Lifetime Income Risk Joint Task Force member Mark Shemtob presented on lifetime income insurance products and related issues. Warren Jones, chairperson of the LTC Terminations Work Group, was a panelist on a discussion about the future of long-term care support and services.
( )The Pension Committee released an update to “Selecting and Documenting Mortality Assumptions” for Pensions to reflect a new mortality improvement scale (BB) published by the Retirement Plans Experience Committee (RPEC) of the Society of Actuaries in 2012, mortality table RP-2014, and mortality improvement scale MP-2014 published by the Society of Actuaries in 2014.
( )The Academy’s Public Plans Subcommittee and the Pension Finance Task Force submitted separate comments for the Actuarial Standards Board’s (ASB) hearing on public pension issues on July 9. (
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The Intersector Group released notes of its April 2015 meeting with the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service.
( )The Intersector Group released notes of its April 2015 meeting with the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
( )Ellen Kleinstuber, vice-chairperson of the Academy’s Pension Committee, testified at an ERISA Advisory Council hearing on model notices and disclosures to help defined benefit plan participants understand their options when offered lump-sum distributions in a pension risk transfer transaction.
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The Pension Practice Council and Multiemployer Subcommittee sent a comment letter to the IRS and Treasury regarding the Request for Information on Suspensions of Benefits under the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014 (MPRA).
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The Pension Practice Council and Multiemployer Subcommittee sent a comment letter to the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation regarding the Request for Information on Partitions and Facilitated Mergers under the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014 (MPRA).
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)Donald Fuerst, senior pension fellow, submitted written testimony to the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging for its hearing on “Bridging the Gap: How Prepared are Americans for Retirement?”
( )The Pension Committee sent a comment letter to the Actuarial Standards Board (ASB) regarding the second exposure draft of the proposed Actuarial Standard of Practice (ASOP) on modeling standards.
( )The Pension Committee sent a comment letter to the IRS regarding the use of mortality tables to calculate pension funding requirements for the years after 2015.
( )The Pension Committee sent a comment letter regarding potential improvements in the operation of IRC Section 436 while still protecting the funded status of pension plans.
( )Janet Barr, former chairperson of the Academy’s Social Security Committee, submitted post-hearing testimony to the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance following its hearing on “Social Security: Is a Key Foundation of Economic Security Working for Women?”
( )Pension Practice Council (PPC) sent a letter to Treasury Department regarding the benefits of allowing qualified defined benefit pension plans to provide longevity annuities directly, rather than requiring them to purchase an insurance contract.
( )Pension Committee sent a comment letter to the PBGC regarding interpretation of plan provisions governing actuarial equivalence.
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Pension Committee comment letter to the IRS regarding the updated final and newly proposed regulations for hybrid retirement plans.
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Janet Barr, former chairperson of the Academy’s Social Security Committee, testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance hearing on “Social Security: Is a Key Foundation of Economic Security Working for Women?” Read the written testimony and news release or watch the full hearing video.
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