Life Practice Public Policy Update
Life Practice Public Policy Update
Jan. 26, 2022
ABOUT THIS WEBINAR
The Life Practice Council hosted a Jan. 26 “Life Public Policy Update” webinar that focused on a mortality theme, including issues surrounding future mortality improvement; COVID-19 mortality as it pertains to Social Security; and C-2 mortality; and VM-50/VM-51 update.
Presenters were Marianne Purushotham, a member of the Life Experience Committee; Amy Kemp, chairperson of the Social Security Committee; Chris Trost, chairperson, and Ryan Fleming, vice chairperson, of the C2 Mortality Risk Work Group; and Angela McNabb, National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). Ben Slutsker, Academy vice president, life, moderated.
Purushotham discussed the issues needing to be addressed for 2022 Future Mortality Improvement (FMI) Scale, and the current status of the development of the plan. She discussed several issues in particular in the scale development including the impact of COVID-19, smoothing method, and margin application. She also outlined future work around issues such as mental health, obesity, and opioids.
Kemp spoke to the impact of COVID-19 on Social Security and the program’s mortality assumptions, noting that while the 2020 Social Security Trustees Report was unable to account for implications of COVID-19 at that time, the 2021 report released last August was updated to include economic and demographic assumptions to reflect the pandemic and ensuing economic uncertainty. She noted that there will be much curiosity and focus of the mortality, economic, and demographic considerations in the 2022 report anticipated later this year.
Trost and Fleming presented on their work recently recommended C-2 risk-based capital factors presented to the NAIC’s Life Risk-Based Capital Working Group, and offered detailed information on the C-2 mortality overall approach in life RBC.
McNabb gave an update on mortality experience data collection as outlined in the NAIC’s valuation manual (VM)-50 and VM-51, including on the data collection timeline as well as an overview of the NAIC data review process. She noted that the NAIC is aiming to submit the aggregate experience data to the Society of Actuaries by May 31.
Attendees were able to submit questions following the presentations, and the Academy received positive feedback from the event.
CONTINUING EDUCATION
The American Academy of Actuaries believes in good faith that attendance at this live webinar constituted an organized activity as defined under the current Qualification Standards for Actuaries Issuing Statements of Actuarial Opinion in the United States, and that attendees may have earned up to 1.8 organized continuing education (CE) credits for attending this live webinar.
