2018 Annual Meeting Agenda at a Glance
Agenda At A Glance
This year’s Annual Meeting and Public Policy Forum will provide insight on today’s top public policy and professionalism issues, giving you opportunities to learn from and network with peers, regulators, and public policy officials. Learn more about what’s on the agenda for you.
Plenaries will explore the latest on Big Data, health care, and pension issues, as well as an interactive professionalism session in a game show format. For a look at last year’s speakers and topics, see our highlights page from the 2017 Annual Meeting and Public Policy Forum.
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Thursday, Nov. 1, 2018 |
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8 a.m. |
Registration Opens Breakfast Service Available |
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9 a.m.
(1.0 CE)
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Presentation of the Jarvis Farley Service Award Opening Plenary Preston Rutledge Assistant Secretary of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) |
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10:15 to 11:45 a.m (1.8 CE) |
Morning Breakout Sessions
Federal and state regulations that implement the Affordable Care Act are often revised to reflect changes in the law and other policy changes, such as those initiated through presidential executive orders. In this session, representatives from the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO) of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will discuss the latest regulatory changes affecting coverage in the ACA marketplaces.
MODERATOR: Cori Uccello, MAAA, FSA, FCA, Senior Health Fellow, American Academy of Actuaries
SPEAKERS: Kelly Drury, Director, Division of Risk Adjustment Operations, CCIIO, CMS; Melissa Jaffe, Health Insurance Specialist, CCIIO, CMS; Brent Plemons, Deputy Director, Rates Review Division, Oversight, CCIIO, CMS; and Jeff Wu, Associate Deputy Director for Policy Coordination, CCIIO, CMS
LIFE | Experiences of Companies that Filed PBR Actuarial Reports
On Jan. 1, 2017, principle-based reserving for life products was adopted as part of the Valuation Manual. The new PBR approach represented a paradigm shift in how statutory reserves for life products are calculated, utilizing cash flow models and assumptions based on company experience. There is a voluntary, three-year transition to implement the new PBR approach, and several companies elected to implement PBR in 2017 for all or some of their products. Actuaries from these companies that filed PBR actuarial reports with state regulators in early 2018 will provide their perspectives, as well as a summary of the regulators’ review and assessment of these submitted PBR actuarial reports.
PENSION | Strengthening Our Retirement System
MODERATOR: Dave Neve, MAAA, FSA, CERA, Vice President, Life
SPEAKERS: Larry Bruning, MAAA, FSA; Amy Eby, MAAA, FSA, Lincoln Financial; Linda Lankowski, MAAA, FSA, Vice Chairperson, Life Practice Council
This session will focus on the spectrum of challenges facing our retirement system. A little more than half of American workers participate in an employer-sponsored retirement plan, the majority of which are defined contribution plans. But this means that nearly half of Americans must rely only on Social Security and their own savings for their retirement income. And for those covered by defined contribution plans, converting account balances into lifetime income can be a significant challenge, leaving those retirees at greater risk later in life. Long-term forecasts of the Social Security system show that revenues are expected to cover only about 75 percent of the scheduled benefits, potentially placing further strain on retirement finances. Some in Congress are paying attention to retirement security issues, and proposals have been put forward to attempt to strengthen the U.S. retirement system. This policy-heavy session will feature stakeholders and experts on retirement policy and examine efforts to ensure that American retirees have the resources they need for a secure retirement.
P/C | Government-Backed P/C Insurance Programs
MODERATOR: Tim Geddes, MAAA, FCA, FSA, EA, Chairperson, Pension Accounting Resource Group SPEAKERS: Zvi Bodie, Professor Emeritus, Boston University; Deva A. Kyle, Tax Counsel, Democratic Staff, Committee on Ways and Means; Aharon Friedman, Committee on Ways and Means (Majority) U.S. House of Representatives; Monique Morrissey, Economic Policy Institute
​This session takes a look at government-run and government-backed p/c insurance programs at the federal and state levels. What role do they play? How do they work? Do the usual actuarial rules apply?
MODERATOR: Shawna Ackerman, MAAA, FCAS, Academy President-Elect
SPEAKERS: John Pedrick, MAAA, FCAS, Chairperson, Government-Backed P/C Insurance Committee; Silvia Arbelaez-Ellis, Government Accountability Office
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11:45 a.m.
to 1:30 p.m.
(1.0 CE) |
Lunch Presentation of the Robert J. Myers Public Service Award Annual Meeting and Presidential Transition Plenary Speaker: Gene L. Dodaro, U.S. comptroller general and head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) |
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1:45 to 3:15 p.m. (1.8 CE) |
Afternoon Breakout Sessions
LIFE | Pension-Risk Transfers
The purchase of insurance company annuities by pension plan sponsors to meet obligations and eliminate future risk (pension risk transfer) has become increasingly common. While there is some public awareness of Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation protection for pension plans, safeguards and regulations for the insurers that take on these pension obligations are less understood. This session will discuss the regulatory scrutiny of pension risk transfers and their impact on the security of retirement benefits. MODERATOR: Paul Navratil, MAAA, FSA, Chairperson, Longevity Risk Task Forcee SPEAKERS: Seong-Min Eom, MAAA, FSA, Chief Actuary, NJ Department of Insurance; Frank Todisco, MAAA, FSA, FCA, EA, U.S. Government Accountability Office HEALTH | Reference Pricing: Can it Reduce Health Spending? This panel will debut a new research study by the Academy’s Health Practice Council, to be released right before the annual meeting, in which claims data from the Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI) has been used to model national adoption of reference pricing. The results indicate a range of possible savings levels. Following this presentation, discussants—both actuaries and non-actuaries—will broaden the discussion to issues surrounding the challenges and opportunities facing regulators, insurers, employers, and consumers if reference pricing were adopted broadly.
MODERATOR: Steven I. Jackson, Assistant Director for Research (Public Policy), American Academy of Actuaries
SPEAKERS: Shawn Bishop, Vice President, Controlling Health Care Costs and Advancing Medicare, The Commonwealth Fund; Matthew Fiedler, Fellow, USC-Brookings Schaeffer Initiative for Health Policy; Susan Pantely, MAAA, FSA, Chairperson, Health Care Delivery Committee
PENSION | The Other Side of the Coin—How Employers View the Retirement Programs They Sponsor Policymakers, academics, and think tanks and others, including the American Academy of Actuaries, have devoted an enormous amount of time and energy in recent years to try to understand and address the financial needs of retired workers. Much of this effort has focused on proposals to improve the employer-sponsored retirement plan system. Despite this focus, too often the needs and objectives of the employers that sponsor and fund these plans have been ignored. This session will feature employers in the private and public sectors that are on the leading edge of retirement plan innovation. The speakers will address employer objectives for their plans, how employers evaluate their programs for success, and their suggestions for policy changes to make retirement plans more valuable to both employers and participants. MODERATOR: Bruce Cadenhead, MAAA, FSA, FCA, EA, Vice Chairperson, Pension Committee SPEAKERS: Lynn Dudley, American Benefits Council; Robert A. Wylie, Executive Director, South Dakota Retirement System; Scott Henderson, Consultant P/C | Climate Risk and Insurance There has been a rise in number and intensity of severe weather events. How are stakeholders responding? What should actuaries be thinking about? What can regulators do?
MODERATOR: Rade Musulin, MAAA, ACAS, Vice President, Casualty
SPEAKERS: Gabriel Maser, International Code Council; Shana Udvardy, Union of Concerned Scientists
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3:30 to 5 p.m. (1.8 CE) |
Afternoon Plenary: Professionalism |
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5:00 to 5:45 p.m. |
Q&A about the proposed merger between the SOA and CAS (West End) Jim Glickman, president of the Society of Actuaries (SOA), and Steve Armstrong, incoming president-elect of the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS), will host a discussion session about the possible SOA/CAS merger. |
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6 to 9:30 p.m. |
Reception and Dinner
This year’s reception and dinner will be held at the historic Mayflower Hotel. The Mayflower has been a D.C. classic since 1925, hosting presidents and visiting dignitaries and delivering a five-star experience to all.
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Friday, Nov. 2, 2018 |
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8 a.m. |
Breakfast Service Available |
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9 a.m. (1.2 CE) |
Morning Plenary: Big Data Speakers: Patrick M. McPharlin, chairperson of the NAIC’s Technology and Innovation (EX) Task Force and director of Michigan’s Department of Insurance and Financial Services, Cara LaPointe, senior fellow at the Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation at Georgetown University |
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10:15 to 11:45 a.m (1.8 CE) |
Morning Breakout Sessions LIFE | The Impact of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) on Life Insurers SPEAKERS: Regina Rose, Senior Vice President, Taxes & Retirement Security, American Council of Life Insurers; Philip Barlow, MAAA, FSA, Associate Commissioner, DC Department of Insurance; Wayne Stuenkel, MAAA, FSA, CERA, Chairperson, RBC Tax Reform Work Group
MODERATOR: David Plumb, MAAA, FSA, Long Term Care Reform Subcommittee
SPEAKERS: Rhonda Ahrens; MAAA; FSA, Nebraska Department of Insurance; Robert Eaton, MAAA, FSA, Milliman
PENSION | Tasked With Saving a System in Crisis—The Joint Select Committee on Solvency of Multiemployer Plans The multiemployer pension system faces enormous challenges, including plans that have almost exhausted their assets, and still-solvent plans struggling to maintain the participation of their contributing employers. The congressional Joint Select Committee on the Solvency of Multiemployer Plans is seeking to develop legislative solutions for the multiemployer system. It has held several hearings on this topic since its creation earlier this year, and faces a deadline of Nov. 30, 2018, set by statute, for reporting recommendations. Speakers will explore a range of ideas that might be included in a multiemployer reform proposal, and will offer insights into the directions that Congress could take. MODERATOR: Jason Russell, MAAA, FSA, EA, Chairperson, Multiemployer Plans Committee SPEAKERS: Pamela H. Nissen, Leonard, O'Brien, Spencer, Gale, & Sayre, Ltd.; Aliya Wong, U.S. Chamber of Commerce; Kendra Kosko Isaacson, U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions P/C | New Economy and Insurance There are thousands of peer-to-peer rental transactions every day, involving automobiles, recreational vehicles, houses, apartments and more. Uber and Lyft and others have created thousands of part-time commercial drivers. The so-called gig economy raises questions about employment-based benefits including workers’ compensation. Are actuaries keeping pace with these changes in the economy?
MODERATOR: Jim Lynch, MAAA, FCAS, Insurance Information Institute
SPEAKERS: Steve Armstrong, MAAA, FCAS, Allstate; David Michaels, professor of environmental and occupational health, Milken Institute School of Public Health of George Washington University, and former assistant secretary of labor for Occupational Safety and Health Administration
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11:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. |
Lunch Presentation of the Outstanding Volunteerism Awards Speaker: Charlie Cook, Political Analyst |
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