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Recent Academy Activity, January 12-16, 2015

Important Qualification Questions Answered

  • Expanded FAQs for the U.S. Qualification Standards (USQS) are now available online. The revised FAQs contain nearly 50 questions about various aspects of qualifications, including basic and continuing education, and experience under the USQS. Academy members also have complimentary access to the Committee on Qualifications’ recent FAQs webinar and presentation slides, as well as to all other professionalism webinars after member log-in.

Litigation Update

  • A motion to dismiss the lawsuit served against the Academy by Mark Freedman, past president of the Society of Actuaries, was filed Wednesday by the Academy in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Ill. The Motion and Memorandum in support of the motion may be accessed here and here.

Representing the U.S. Profession Globally

  • Actuaries in London, Tokyo, and Sydney came together Thursday for Senior Pension Fellow Don Fuerst’s presentation, “PBSS/IACA Webinar: A Review of U.S. Public Sector Pensions,” hosted by the International Actuarial Association (IAA). Fuerst provided the international attendees with an overview of public sector pension plans in the United States, and the work of U.S. public sector plan actuaries. Fuerst’s presentation was the first in a series of events planned by IAA in 2015 for actuaries specializing in public sector plan work.

Newly Released

  • In this month’s HealthCheck, read about a letter the Academy’s Risk Sharing Work Group submitted to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on a proposed rule on benefit and payment parameters for 2016, Academy updates to the NAIC, health insurance implications of the recently signed omnibus spending bill, and more.

The 2015 Life and Health Valuation Law Manual Is Available for Pre-order

  • Pre-orders are being accepted for the 2015 Life and Health Valuation Law Manual. The manual is designed to help appointed actuaries comply with the requirements of the NAIC model Standard Valuation Law and the Model Actuarial Opinion and Memorandum Regulation. It is updated annually, and will be released soon. Purchase options include web access or CD-ROM, for an individual or a group. The manual can be pre-ordered online or by mail/fax.

Public Policy Activities

  • The Pension Practice Council sent a letter to the Treasury Department regarding the benefits of allowing qualified defined benefit pension plans to provide longevity annuities directly, rather than requiring them to purchase an insurance contract.
  • The Pension Committee sent a comment letter to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. regarding how pension plans should determine, in the case of a participant who retires after his or her normal retirement age (a “late retiree”), the benefit that is actuarially equivalent to the benefit that would have been payable at normal retirement age.

Academy Volunteers Needed

  • The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is asking for Academy members’ help in updating the description of an “actuary” on O*NET (Occupational Information Network), the DOL’s online occupation database. O*NET is the primary public source for information about the skills, tasks, work context, and knowledge requirements for 900+ occupations in the United States. Those who have been Academy members for more than five years are eligible to contribute, and have received an email invitation with instructions on how to volunteer from Academy President Mary D. Miller.

Reminder

  • Membership dues are due January 1 every year. Click here to conveniently pay online. Log in now to pay your dues, print your invoice, or to update your profile.

Academy in the News

  • A Bloomberg View editorial on the Academy’s recently released assessments from its Retirement for the AGES initiative asks how U.S. pension plans might be able to move away from low-ranked defined benefit and defined contribution plans toward top-ranked models such as the New Brunswick Shared Risk Model. Bloomberg posed the question to Senior Pension Fellow Don Fuerst, who said that establishing laws and regulations that protect companies from market shocks and other risks may entice employers to try alternatives. The story also ran in LifeHealthPro and other media outlets.
  • A Bankrate Retirement Blog post provides a summary and analysis for each of the five systems graded using the AGES framework. Fuerst provided comments on how the letter grades for each system were determined.
  • Media outlets across Canada have reported on the “A-” grade given in the assessment of the New Brunswick Shared Risk Model. Money News (Canada) quoted Fuerst saying, “Our assessment shows that the New Brunswick shared risk pension plan model supports sustainability as well as good governance and decision-making, and avoids imposing undue burdens on stakeholders. It is an excellent model for stakeholders in other jurisdictions to examine.” Visit the AGES webpage to see the full list of AGES media coverage and learn more about the initiative.
  • Additionally, Fuerst was interviewed by Market Watch regarding his working paper “Retirement Shares Plan: A New Model of Risk Sharing” published on the website of the Pension Research Council of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. BenefitsPro also covered the working paper.

A Note on Our Publications

  • Academy publications are designed to serve you. With that in mind, we’re gauging interest in making available printed copies of our publications. If you would find such an offering valuable, please email editor@actuary.org with your thoughts. And thank you for reading.

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