Keeping You in the Know—Recent Academy Activity, Nov. 15–19, 2021
Editor’s Note: Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, the Academy will not publish This Week on Nov. 26. The next issue will be published in two weeks, on Dec. 3.
Academy Hosts In-Person LHQ Seminar
Academy Past President D. Joeff Williams
leads an LHQ Seminar session on Tuesday
The Academy’s annual Life and Health Qualifications (LHQ) Seminar was held as an in-person event this year. The seminar was held Monday through Thursday in Arlington, Va., and featured sessions on topics including professionalism, actuarial opinions, and interactive case-study breakout sessions that have long been highly valued by attendees. Attendees received required basic education and continuing education to be qualified to sign NAIC Life and Health annual statements of actuarial opinion, and a range of topics were discussed including principle-based reserving, risk adjustment data validation, and risk-based capital. Actuarial Standards Board (ASB) Chairperson Darrell Knapp chaired the subcommittee that organized this year’s seminar, and subcommittee member David Dillon was a new member of the LHQ Seminar faculty.
President’s Letter to Members Features Meaning of Membership, Announces 2022 Membership Renewal Period Now Open
Academy President Maryellen Coggins’ letter to members sent this week announced the opening of the Academy’s 2022 membership renewal period and includes a link to “The Meaning of Your Membership,” which highlights the many mission-critical aspects of the Academy’s work undertaken in 2021. Learn more about how the Academy’s efforts in professionalism and public policy enhance and deepen member service and value. To renew your Academy membership online today, please click here.
Professionalism, Public Policy Outreach
Bingham presents Thursday in South Carolina
Academy professionalism and public policy experts had a busy week of speaking to many groups, both virtually and in person, discussing recent professionalism and public policy developments and providing information to help actuaries meet their professional responsibilities.
On Thursday, Vice President of Professionalism Al Bingham provided a look at key professionalism developments and resources in-person at the Southeastern Actuaries Conference annual meeting in Charleston, S.C. Resources highlighted by Bingham include the Applicability Guidelines for actuarial standards of practice; the Academy’s professionalism webpage; Committee on Professional Responsibility discussion papers; and Academy webinar recordings.
ASB member Kevin Dyke presented virtually to the Middle Atlantic Actuarial Club on Tuesday, providing a detailed look at the ASB’s structure and standards-setting process, as well as an update on soon-to-be effective and revised ASOPs in different stages of development. Dyke also discussed key concepts in ASOPs, such as documentation and disclosure.
Also on Tuesday, Academy Multiemployer Plans Committee Chairperson Christian Benjaminson provided a public policy overview of multiemployer pension plans at a breakout session of the Actuaries Club of Philadelphia’s virtual meeting. The overview included a comprehensive look at the structure and financial condition of multiemployer plans and a retrospective of recent legislation and regulation related to multiemployer plans.
Committee on Qualifications member and Academy Past President Tom Terry also presented to the Philadelphia club on Tuesday. His presentation—“Emerging Professionalism Issues in 2022”—included an extensive discussion of the rationale, operation, and responsibilities involved in the U.S. actuarial profession’s self-regulation. Terry lauded the resilience of the U.S. professionalism framework amid past and emerging challenges.
On Wednesday, Committee on Professional Responsibility Chairperson Nancy Behrens presented “Professionalism and You” as the opening general session of the virtual annual meeting of the Actuary Society of Greater New York. Behrens reviewed the professionalism infrastructure housed in the Academy, discussed self-regulation and Precept 13 of the Code of Professional Conduct, explored the disciplinary and request for guidance processes of the Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline, and recapped the professionalism resources available from the Academy.
Public Employment Opportunity With the GAO
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has an opening for a senior actuary, to be located either in GAO’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., or in GAO’s Atlanta or Seattle field offices. Primary practice area should be retirement; experience in multiple practice areas is welcome but not required. The application deadline is Dec. 13; learn more about the position and how to apply via USA Jobs.
The House of Representatives early Friday passed H.R. 5376, the Build Back Better Act (budget reconciliation bill). The $1.7 trillion bill includes a broad range of provisions relating to health care, paid family leave, and climate change, among others. The measure passed the House on a near-party-line vote of 220-213. Read the Academy alert.
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) released its fiscal year 2021 annual report, which examines the effectiveness of the PBGC’s multiemployer and single-employer insurance programs, which both reported positive net positions for the first time in 20 years. Read the Academy alert.
Public Policy in Focus
The Climate Change Joint Task Forcesent comments to the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Federal Insurance Office’s (FIO) request for information regarding FIO's future work related to the insurance sector and climate-related financial risks
The Long-Term Care Valuation Work Group released a major report, the Long-Term Care Insurance Mortality and Lapse Study, as a result of a 2016 request from the NAIC’s Health Actuarial (B) Task Force’s regarding replacing the mortality and lapse bases for statutory minimum reserves. The study was completed jointly by the Academy and the Society of Actuaries Research Institute.
Learn more about how the Academy’s public policy efforts support the profession, our members, and the public.
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