AmericanAcademyOfActuaries

The Academy's 2009 letter to Congress that included an actuarial analysis of the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act by a joint Academy/Society of Actuaries work group was cited by U.S. House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Health Chairman Joe Pitts, and Reps. Charles Boustany and Phil Gingrey during a hearing held by two congressional subcommittees on the CLASS program.

On-air contributor Steve Hayes, a senior writer for the Weekly Standard, mentioned the Academy for its 2009 letter to Congress that included an actuarial analysis of the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act. The analysis was conducted by a joint American Academy of Actuaries/Society of Actuaries work group.

The Academy's adverse selection concerns with the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) program were cited, and Academy member Steve Schoonveld provided recommendations on how to improve the program's design, including boosting the "at-work" requirements.

Academy Flood Insurance Subcommittee Chairperson Stuart Mathewson discussed National Flood Insurance Program reforms. He said that pending legislation is “not perfect” but will help the program.

Academy Senior Pension Fellow Donald Fuerst discussed Ellen Schultz's new book, "Retirement Heist." Fuerst told host Steve Inskeep that in his professional experience, most employers have had the best interest of their organizations and employees at heart. He also said that most pension plan funding troubles are related to a poor economy and “extraordinarily complex” pension funding rules.

The Academy provided statistics comparing the cost of living for single retirees and couples. The Academy said that a single person in retirement spends 70 to 75 percent of what a couple spends and that on a per-person basis, the cost of living for singles is 40 to 50 percent higher than for couples.

Academy Financial Regulatory Reform Task Force Chairperson Jesse Schwartz discussed the task force’s letter to the Department of the Treasury that outlined metrics for systemic risk regulation.

Allen Schmitz’s testimony on behalf of the Academy during a congressional hearing on the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act was referenced and linked.

Academy Senior Health Fellow Cori Uccello discussed the Academy Medicare Steering Committee’s letter to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction and options for reforming Medicare as outlined in the Academy’s issue brief, An Actuarial Perspective on Proposals to Improve Medicare's Financial Condition. She said that, “achieving long-term sustainability for Medicare will require slowing the growth in overall healthcare spending, not simply shifting costs from one payer to another.”

The Academy Medicare Steering Committee's letter to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction was discussed. The actuaries urged the committee to address Medicare’s solvency and sustainability by developing proposals to slow health care spending growth.

Academy Senior Health Fellow Cori Uccello provided a list of policy options to strengthen the individual health insurance coverage mandate contained within the health reform law. She said these options also can serve as alternatives if the mandate is removed from the law, but that a strong and enforceable individual mandate is probably the most effective method to limit adverse selection.

Academy Social Security Committee Chairperson Janet Barr discussed a new report, "Fast Facts and Figures on Social Security, 2011." Among other observations, Barr said that Americans are living longer and that all three legs of the traditional retirement stool--Social Security, employer-provided retirement plans, and personal savings--will be depended on to support longer life expectancies. She said this may require individuals to work longer or save more.

The Academy was cited for its adverse selection and sustainability concerns regarding the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) program.

The Academy's Consumer-Driven Health Plans (CDHP) Work Groups’ analysis of CDHPs was cited in a commentary by Janet Trautwein, the CEO of the National Association of Health Underwriters. The Academy said that CDHPs can save as much as 12 to 20 percent in health care costs in the first year and three to five percent on average in subsequent years.

Academy President Mary Frances Miller's letter to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners Life Actuarial Task Force was discussed. Miller corrected misstatements made about the Academy and the actuarial profession by a third party. In her letter, Miller also defined the Academy’s work in representing the U.S. actuarial profession on public policy issues and outlined the Academy’s policies and procedures that help to maintain the objectivity of its work.

MSN Money The Academy's Social Security Game was mentioned and linked in an article that attempts to dispel popular misconceptions about the program.

Academy Public Interest Committee Chairperson Tom Terry's testimony to the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security was discussed. Terry said that actuaries support restoring actuarial balance to Social Security by increasing the program's retirement age to account for longevity improvements.

The Academy provided life expectancy and mortality data for the average 27-year-old female.

Academy and Society Joint Pension Finance Task Force Chairperson Evan Inglis discussed how tapping into your pension could cost you more than you think—and not only from taxes. He said that a worker also should consider how much he or she could earn by leaving the pension intact—through investment growth and from future annuity payments, if converting the pension into a lifetime income stream.

Academy Public Interest Committee Chairperson Tom Terry's testimony to the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security was discussed. Terry said that actuaries support restoring actuarial balance to Social Security by increasing the program's retirement age to account for longevity improvements.

Academy Public Interest Committee Chairperson Tom Terry's testimony to the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security was discussed. Terry said that actuaries support restoring actuarial balance to Social Security by increasing the program's retirement age to account for longevity improvements.

Academy Public Interest Committee Chairperson Tom Terry testified to the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security. Terry said that actuaries support restoring actuarial balance to Social Security by increasing the program's retirement age to account for longevity improvements.

Academy Public Interest Committee Chairperson Tom Terry testified to the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security. Terry said that actuaries support restoring actuarial balance to Social Security by increasing the program's retirement age to account for longevity improvements.

Huffington Post
A January 2010 technical report by the Academy and Society of Actuaries regarding the excise tax contained in then-proposed health care reform legislation was cited in op-ed by Rep. Joe Courtney. The actuaries highlighted some of the unintended consequences of the excise tax as proposed in the legislation.

The Academy life and pension practice councils' May 2010 response to a request for information from the departments of Labor and Treasury regarding lifetime income options for retirement plans was cited and linked. The Academy wrote that to achieve a specified level of retirement security, an individual would need to set aside 50 to 75 percent more money than if the individual participated in a risk-pooling arrangement such as annuity.

National Underwriter Life & Health
The Academy's September 2010 testimony to the U.S. departments of Labor and the Treasury on lifetime income options in retirement plans was cited in a new U.S. Government Accountability Office report on ensuring lifetime income throughout retirement. The actuaries wrote that pooling longevity risk, through a lifetime income arrangement, is more economically efficient than self-insuring that risk. If self-insuring, a retiree would need to accumulate substantially more in savings (as opposed to purchasing an annuity) to ensure that he or she did not outlive his or her assets.

The Academy Financial Regulatory Reform Task Force's letter to the Financial Stability Oversight Council outlining metrics for identifying systemic risk in the insurance sector was discussed.

The Academy's issue brief on Medicare's financial condition was cited in op-ed by Rep. Jim Gerlach. The Academy's Medicare Steering Committee urged swift action to ensure that Medicare remains viable. "The sooner such corrective measures are enacted, the more flexible the approach and the more gradual the implementation can be," the actuaries wrote. "Failure to act now will necessitate far more drastic actions later."