Speakers, Practice Sessions Highlight Annual Meeting and Public Policy Forum
The Academy’s very successful Annual Meeting and Public Policy Forum took place in Washington this week, where Bob Beuerlein became the Academy’s 52nd president, succeeding Tom Wildsmith. The meeting and forum encompassed a day and a half of plenary and breakout sessions covering all aspects of actuarial practice. With more than 40 experts on hand, attendees of the Nov. 3-4 event took in sessions on casualty, health, life, and pension issues, and heard five distinguished keynote and plenary session speakers on public policy topics ranging from financial security to the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Former Sen. Christopher Dodd described, with vivid and personal details, the U.S. economy’s financial crisis that came to a head shortly before the 2008 presidential election and led to federal government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and eventually the Dodd-Frank financial reform law.
Andy Slavitt, acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, gave a straightforward and comprehensive look at the effects of and challenges facing the ongoing ACA implementation.
Oregon Insurance Commissioner Laura Cali provided perspective on and the approach of the NAIC Big Data (D) Working Group—which she chairs—established to identify regulators’ concerns and needs about the type and uses of Big Data across practice areas, and participated in a professionalism panel discussion on the laws, standards, and ethical challenges actuaries face in working with Big Data.
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC) Director Tom Reeder clearly identified the financial picture for single and multiemployer defined benefit pension plans, and expressed great appreciation for the Academy’s new issue brief on the difficult choices ahead for multiemployer plans.
Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Director Keith Hall discussed the pivotal role the CBO, as a nonpartisan, objective legislative branch agency, plays in providing budget estimates and scoring existing and proposed legislation for Congress in the annual federal budgeting process. His slide presentation can be viewed on the CBO website.
Attendees were entertained at Thursday’s dinner by the Capitol Steps, the Washington-based political musical satire troupe who used the ample material provided by the closing days of the presidential campaign to hilarious effect.
The Academy livestreamed select portions of the event, which you can view on the Academy’s Facebook page. The event also received prominent media coverage (see “In the News,” below). Look for more coverage on these and practice-area breakout sessions in the November issue of Actuarial Update. And mark your calendar for next year’s Annual Meeting and Public Policy Forum, which will be held Nov. 14-15 in Washington.
Volunteers, Service Award Winners Honored at Annual Meeting
The Academy also presented its annual service awards at the meeting. Robert Meilander received the Jarvis Farley Service Award for making significant contributions in the life and risk management and financial reporting practices, at the international level, and on the Actuarial Standards Board’s ongoing work related to public pension plan issues. Joan Weiss received the Robert J. Myers Public Service Award in recognition of her extraordinary contributions to the public good as a dedicated public servant at the PBGC and the Joint Board for the Enrollment of Actuaries. Both Meilander and Weiss stressed the value and benefits of their years-long volunteer work, both for themselves and for those who have relied on their work. Donna Claire, Barbara Klever, and Kathleen Odomirok were recognized with Outstanding Volunteerism Awards.
Committee on Qualifications Adds New FAQs
To further assist the profession’s understanding of the requirements of the U.S. Qualification Standards (USQS), the Committee on Qualifications has added two new questions to the robust set of FAQs on the USQS. The first (now Question 10) addresses actuaries changing practice areas. The second (now Question 19) deals with the experience required under the Specific Qualifications.
Next Week—Deadline in Health Care ‘Actuarial Challenge’
Next week is the deadline for those who intend to participate in the health care “Actuarial Challenge” to register their interest. The Academy is helping to promote this effort, which is being conducted by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in conjunction with Milliman Inc. This is an opportunity for actuaries to provide innovative ideas and proposals to increase stability in the individual health insurance market. Teams or individuals wishing to participate should complete an initial online application before 6 p.m. EST next Friday, Nov. 11; the challenge itself runs through April 2017. Visit the Actuarial Challenge website for more information.
Contingencies, Actuarial Update Released
In the latest issue of Contingencies, the cover story “Generational Shift” discusses how aging Millennials will challenge U.S. health and retirement systems—and transform them in the process. Other features investigate the risk considerations of New York’s new paid family leave program; a look at the opportunities and challenges of accelerated underwriting; plus an exploration of how the Actuarial Standards Board helps support the infrastructure of U.S. actuarial professionalism.
The October Actuarial Update includes coverage of the Pension Practice Council’s (PPC) issue brief on challenges facing the PBGC’s multiemployer program; North American actuarial organizations’ expansion of a cross-border discipline agreement; and the “Professionalism Counts” column looks at how guidance provided by the Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline to individual actuaries contributes to the self-regulation of the actuarial profession.
Correction
An initial version of the October Actuarial Update omitted Clare McFarland and Alicia Munnell from the new task force appointed to revise Actuarial Standard of Practice (ASOP) No. 32, Social Insurance. Munnell, a non-actuary member of the task force, is the Peter F. Drucker Professor of Management Sciences at Boston College’s Carroll School of Management and director of BC’s Center for Retirement Research. She has also been a member of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers; assistant secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy; senior vice president and director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston; and was a co-founder and the first president of the National Academy of Social Insurance. McFarland is deputy director of the Medicare and Medicaid Cost Estimates Group at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Office of the Actuary.
Upcoming Events
LHQ Seminar: A few spaces remain for the 2016 Life and Health Qualifications Seminar, to be held Nov. 13-17 in Arlington, Va. (Washington, D.C., metro area). This highly regarded annual seminar is the primary source of instruction for actuaries who wish to be qualified to issue statements of actuarial opinion for either the NAIC Life and A&H Annual Statement or the NAIC Health Annual Statement. Register now to reserve one of the remaining spaces for this highly regarded seminar.
Alternative Pension Cost Webinar: The Academy will host a webinar, “Alternative Pension Cost—An Update and Review of Implementation Issues,” on Wednesday, Nov. 16, from noon to 1:15 p.m. EST. Presenters will review expense methodologies presented in the 2015 issue brief, Alternatives for Pension Cost Recognition, which were also discussed in a webinar last November. This new webinar will feature leaders from the Academy’s Pension Committee and PPC, and the Academy believes in good faith that Enrolled Actuaries may earn non-core CPD under the JBEA rules for attending this webinar. Register today.
P/C Loss Seminar Approaching: An agenda at a glance is available for the 2016 Seminar on Effective P/C Loss Reserve Opinions, to be held Dec. 6-7 in Chicago. This two-day seminar will enhance your expertise on the latest regulations and standards with reviews of actuarial qualification standards and interactive case studies. Register today.
See our website for a listing of all Academy events.
Public Policy Activities
The Life Operational Risk Work Groupsubmitted comments to the NAIC’s Operational Risk (E) Subgroup on proposed operational risk factors and growth charge for the life risk-based capital formula.
The Pension Committee, Multiemployer Plans Subcommittee, and Public Plans Subcommitteesubmitted comments to the Actuarial Standards Board on a draft actuarial standard of practice (ASOP) on risk assessment and disclosure.
The Longevity Risk Task Force gave a presentation to the Financial Stability Oversight Council’s Nonbank Designations Committee on longevity risk in annuity and life insurance.
The SVL Interest Rate Modernization Work Group submitted comments to the NAIC’s VM-22 (A) Subgroup on recommended asset bucket weightings and a historical comparison thereof for the subgroup’s exposure draft on the VM-22 maximum valuation interest rates for income annuities.
Alerts
Several federal agencies issued a final rule on Oct. 31 that makes travel insurance an excepted benefit under the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, and the Internal Revenue Code, including the ACA.
Subscribe to Member Alerts: Subscribers to the Academy’s alerts are notified by email when a new alert is posted in their area(s) of interest. The alerts are available in five areas of focus: casualty, health, life, pension, and cross-practice issues. Academy members may subscribe to any or all of them free of charge as a member service after signing in to the member section of the website.
In the News
The Annual Meeting and Public Policy Forum received major media attention.
Slavitt’s opening plenary address was posted to C-SPAN’s website, televised live on C-SPAN3, and previewed in a story by The Hill, which discussed the ACA’s extended enrollment period for coverage in 2017. A daily Politico newsletter that focuses on health care cited Slavitt’s remarks, which were posted in their entirety on the CMS Blog.
A Bloomberg BNA subscriber-only story reported on Cali’s comments at the annual meeting regarding deliberations on a regulatory option to limit insurers’ use of Big Data.
The Academy’s event was also recognized in a weekly Roll Call newsletter.
Elsewhere, Senior Health Fellow Cori Uccello provided an actuarial perspective on the impact of loosening the age-rating band ratio from 3:1 to 5:1 under the Affordable Care Act in a subscriber-only story in AIS Health.
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