The Academy’s 50th anniversary celebration occurs this year at our unique Annual Meeting and Public Policy Forum. The focus on public policy and how the profession serves the public in the U.S. will be apparent in the agenda and the speakers, which now include Gene Dodaro, comptroller general of the United States; Adam Hamm, commissioner of insurance at the North Dakota Department of Insurance and immediate past president of the NAIC; and Richard Berner, director of the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Financial Research. Click here to register for the Nov. 12-13 Annual Meeting and Public Policy Forum, which will celebrate the Academy’s 50th anniversary. Click here to see the latest additions and full agenda.
September Actuarial Update Released
In the September Actuarial Update, find more in-depth coverage of last month’s many practice-related activities and efforts to share the U.S. profession’s work with the global community.
ASB Approves Exposure Draft of ASOP No. 21 Revision
The Actuarial Standards Board (ASB) approved an exposure draft of a revision of ASOP No. 21, Responding to or Assisting Auditors or Examiners in Connection with Financial Audits, Financial Reviews, and Financial Examinations. As financial audits, reviews, and examinations have evolved significantly in the past 10 years, the ASB decided that another revision of ASOP No. 21 was necessary. The comment deadline is Dec. 31 for the exposure draft, which can be viewed here.
Public Policy Activities
The Solvency Committee submitted written testimony for the U.S. House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance’s hearing on “The Impact of Domestic Regulatory Standards on the U.S. Insurance Market.”
The Active Benefits Subcommittee sent a letter to the IRS regarding Notice 2015-52 on the excise tax for high-cost employer-sponsored health coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
The Principle-Based Reserves Strategy Subgroup submitted comments to the NAIC Reinsurance Task Force on the exposure draft, Non-Universal Life and Universal Life With Secondary Guarantees Credit for Reinsurance Model Regulation.
The Life Illustrations Work Group submitted comments to the NAIC Life Insurance and Annuities (A) Committee regarding possible life insurance policy illustration issues that could be reviewed by the proposed Illustration Review (A) Working Group.
The VM-22 drafting subgroup of the Annuity Reserve Work Group submitted comments to the NAIC Life Actuarial Task Force’s VM-22 subgroup on draft sections of VM-22 that cover all non-variable annuities and deposit funds.
The C1 Work Group provided comments on the American Council of Life Insurers’ proposal, Life Insurer C-1 Asset Risk-Based Capital Requirement—Real Estate, which was exposed by the NAIC Investment Risk-Based Capital Working Group.
Alerts
The U.S. House and Senate passed a bill that would amend the ACA, making it optional for states to participate in the expansion of the small group health insurance market. President Obama is expected to sign it into law. Read the Senate alert here and the House alert here, or view them in the member section of the Academy website under “Health Alerts.”
The Federal Insurance Office released its annual report on the insurance industry. The report offers a comprehensive review of the current state of the insurance industry and provides a summary of the U.S. insurance industry, current consumer protections, consumer access to the insurance marketplace, insurance-oriented regulatory developments, and pertinent international developments.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced on Oct. 1 the proration results for 2014 risk corridors payments. Read the full alert here or in the member section of the Academy website under “Health Alerts.”
Last Chance: Call for Papers
Monday, Oct. 5, is the deadline for a call for papers from the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, the professional association for actuaries in the United Kingdom, which is soliciting research proposals related to the actuarial themes of aging and the effect of the changing economic landscape on financial health.
OPM Seeks Candidate for Retirement System’s Board of Actuaries
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management is seeking a candidate to serve on the Board of Actuaries of the Civil Service Retirement System. The board is composed of three actuaries who are members of the Academy and who are qualified to provide advice and recommendations on matters relating to defined benefit retirement plans. The board generally meets on an annual basis in Washington, D.C. Interested candidates should email a description of their background and qualifications to actuary@opm.gov.
Academy Representatives Visit China, Europe
Academy representatives attended actuarial meetings on two continents in late September, visiting China and Romania. At the invitation of the Chinese Actuarial Association (CAA), and the Actuarial Association of Europe (AAE), representatives offered insights into how the U.S. actuarial profession is structured and carries out its professionalism and public policy work. See a full write-up in the September Actuarial Update.
Professionalism Outreach
Academy President Mary D. Miller delivered a professionalism presentation to the Columbus (Ohio) Actuarial Club on Monday. More than 70 actuaries attended the presentation, at which Miller gave an overview of actuarial professionalism, including the Code of Professional Conduct, the Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline, and the Academy’s development of a qualification attestation form.
Upcoming Events
Professionalism Webinar Set for Oct. 30: The next Council on Professionalism (COP) webinar, “Unknown Unknowns,” will be held on Oct. 30, from noon to 1:30 p.m. EDT. Actuaries are used to working with known unknowns, but when the environment of rules, regulations, and assumptions in which they work changes without clear guidance, how do actuaries approach the unknown unknowns? Using experience from the pension, health, and property and casualty practice areas, our expert panelists will review and discuss what experience can tell us. Registration will open next week.
Save the Date: The COP webinar “Facing a Dilemma? The ABCD Can Help,” will be held on Dec. 9. Stay tuned for more details as they are released.
Newly Announced Pension Webinar: The Academy will host a webinar, “Alternatives for Pension Cost Recognition,” on Nov. 10. Please stay tuned for more details as they become available.
Agenda Set for Canada/Chile International Health Care Webinar: The agenda has been released for the Academy’s upcoming international health care webinar, which is part of the ongoing joint series with the International Actuarial Association Health Section. The Nov. 4 webinar will focus on Canada and Chile. Click here to view the agenda; registration will be available soon.
Registration Ongoing for P/C Opinion Seminar: Registration continues for the Academy’s 2015 Seminar on P/C Effective Loss Reserve Opinions, to be held Dec. 1-2 in Philadelphia. Actuaries who prepare or sign NAIC annual statement actuarial opinions on P/C loss reserves, or those who assist in preparing them, should plan to attend. Click here for seminar information and here to register.
In the News
A widely published Associated Pressstory on the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System cited the Academy’s issue brief, The 80% Pension Funding Standard Myth, in questioning the state’s strategy to set an 80 percent funding goal. The story ran in multiple U.S. and international news outlets including CNBC, The Washington Times, The Miami Herald, and The New Zealand Herald.
The Florida Times-Unioncited the September/October Contingenciescover story, “Our Nation’s Neglected Infrastructure,” as part of an editorial calling for greater U.S. infrastructure investment.
Bloomberg BNA’s subscriber-only story on recent congressional action to amend the ACA cited analysis from the Academy’s issue brief, Potential Implications of the Small Group Definition Expanding to Employers with 51-100 Employees. The issue brief was also cited in Health Affairs Blog, TheRepublican-American, TheLedger.com, and MyStatesman.com.
PropertyCasualty360 and Automotive News noted the Academy will honor Andrea Sweeny with the Jarvis Farley Service Award and Michael Boerner with the Robert J. Myers Public Service Award at the Academy’s Annual Meeting and Public Policy Forum in Washington in November.
Note: Some links in this email go to external websites and may require registration. The Academy is not responsible for the content of these websites. Links may expire.
PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL. THIS EMAIL ADDRESS IS NOT MONITORED.
If you would like more information or to contact the Academy, please visit us at www.actuary.org/content/about-us
Sign up to follow the Academy on Twitter.
Rather not receive Academy emails? Unsubscribe by emailing membership@actuary.org.
1850 M Street NW • Suite 300 • Washington, DC 20036 • 202.223.8196 • www.actuary.org
Copyright 2015 American Academy of Actuaries. All rights reserved.