The Joint Board for the Enrollment of Actuaries (JBEA) has asked the Academy to alert its members that the JBEA is seeking applications from enrolled actuaries to serve on its Advisory Committee on Actuarial Examinations. The committee is responsible for reviewing, editing, and finalizing examination questions, reviewing statistical results of the examination, and other activities. The application period closes on Dec. 5.

The Social Security Committee released an issue brief on the 2014 Social Security Trustees Report that examines the social insurance program’s long-term solvency and states that Congress should act soon to improve the long-term financial outlook of Social Security.

The Pension Committee's Public Plans Subcommittee sent a letter to the Governmental Accounting Standards Board commenting on an Exposure Draft on accounting and financial reporting for pension plans that are not administered through trusts and amendments to certain provisions of GASB Statements 67 and 68.

The Joint Committee on Retiree Health sent a letter to the Governmental Accounting Standards Board commenting on proposed statements of accounting and financial reporting by governmental employers for other postemployment benefits (OPEBs).

The Pension Committee sent a letter to the Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department regarding guidance needed regarding the Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2014. 

The Academy published a new Essential Elements paper, Securing Social Security, which examines the long-term solvency challenges facing the nation’s largest social insurance program and approaches that could provide adequate long-term financing for the program. Essential Elements is a series designed to make actuarial analyses of public policy issues clearer to general audiences.

The Pension Practice Council (PPC) and Pension Finance Task Force (PFTF) submitted letters to Congressional leaders on concerns about proposals to raise revenues by changing private sector pension law to offset unrelated spending increases.

Several Academy members presented at the National Conference of Insurance Legislators’ summer meeting in Boston, July 9-13. Mike Angelina, vice president of the Casualty Practice Council, presented on the evolving role of the private market in providing flood insurance, and Senior Life Fellow Nancy Bennett offered an update on principle-based reserving (PBR) implementation that included a legislation-in-brief document and FAQs. Ellen Kleinstuber, vice-chairperson of the Pension Committee, discussed NCOIL’s proposed Pension De-Risking Model Act in the wake of the Pension Committee sending a letter to NCOIL on the proposal last week.

The Pension Committee submitted comments to the Society of Actuaries’ Retirement Plans Experience Committee on the RP-2014 and MP-2014 exposure drafts.

The Social Security Committee released an issue brief that analyzes Social Security design changes to create a defined contribution system within the program for workers to accumulate contributions in individual accounts to fund their retirement income.

The Social Security Committee updated its issue brief on the quantitative measures policymakers can use while evaluating Social Security reform.

Intersector Group releases a report to the Pension Practice Council containing notes from its March 2014 meeting with the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

The Academy hosted Retirement for the AGES: Measuring for Success, a forum that brought together retirement community leaders for an in-depth discussion and thought-provoking assessment of retirement plans and current proposals, based on the Academy’s Retirement for the AGES framework for retirement-income systems.

The Academy published a new Essential Elements paper, The 80% Pension Funding Myth, which adds to its series designed to make actuarial analyses of public policy issues more accessible to widespread audiences. Visit the Essential Elements webpage to read this paper and others in the series.

The Pension Practice Council and Pension Finance Task Force both sent letters concerning recent proposals to use pension policy as an offset for unrelated spending increases. Read the news release.

The Pension Practice Council sent a letter to congressional leaders regarding the sunset of certain multiemployer provisions in the Pension Protection Act of 2006 that will expire the end of 2014. Read the news release here.

Senior Pension Fellow Donald Fuerst provided written testimony to U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Policy hearing on the state of U.S. retirement security.

Academy members made well-received presentations at the National Conference of Insurance Legislators’ Spring Meeting in Savannah March 7-9.  Ellen Kleinstuber, vice-chairperson of the Academy’s Pension Committee, presented on a March 7 panel, “Longevity Risk & Insurance.”  She also offered comments at a special point-counterpoint discussion on a proposed pension de-risking model act.  Joyce Bohl, a member of the Federal Health Committee, presented on March 8 as part of a panel on the Affordable Care Act and underwriting.

The Social Security Committee released its updated monograph, Social Security Reform Options, that analyzes proposals to address Social Security’s financial challenges. Click here to read the news release.

The Pension Committee sent comments to the Internal Revenue Service regarding Notice 2014-5, Temporary Nondiscrimination Relief for Closed Defined Benefit Plans and Request for Comments.