This Week, Aug. 20-24, 2012

Academy Election News

• Academy Election Results Announced! The 2012 election of Regular Directors [1] for the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Actuaries is now complete. Congratulations to Katie Campbell, Godfrey Perrott, and Shari Westerfield. 18.7 percent of our members cast votes in the election—a higher percentage than our inaugural online voting experiment in 2011. The terms of the new members on the Academy Board of Directors will begin at the close of the Oct. 15 annual meeting [2] of Academy membership.

Website: New Postings

• The Pension Committee sent comments [3] to the Internal Revenue Service in response to proposed regulations [4] on the prohibited payment option under single-employer defined benefit plans when a plan sponsor is in bankruptcy.

Recent Events

• Regulators and other attendees at the NAIC summer meeting had an opportunity to talk one-on-one with representatives of the ASB, ABCD, COQ, and Council on Professionalism during a breakfast and “office hours” meetings hosted by the Academy’s Council on Professionalism. Topics of discussion included qualifications, use of “professional judgment” as provided in ASOPs, and the movement within the profession to risk-focused analysis. The breakfast also featured a slide presentation [5] on professionalism.

Upcoming Events

• Aug. 30: Post-NAIC Update/PBA Webinar [6]. Review the NAIC’s life and annuity activities—including those of the Life Actuarial Task Force—and receive an update on the Valuation Manual that was adopted by the NAIC’s life insurance committee on Aug. 17.
• Sept. 13: Precept 13—How Do I Comply in a Self-Regulating Profession? [7] Attend this webinar and learn how you should consider applying Precept 13 when you become aware that another actuary may have violated the Code of Professional Conduct. Your understanding of Precept 13 is vital to ensuring that you are fulfilling the profession’s responsibilities to the public and your own responsibilities to your clients, your employer—and to the profession.
• Oct. 15: Academy Annual Meeting and Awards Luncheon [8]. Stu Rothenberg, Political Analyst and Editor, will deliver the keynote address at this year’s luncheon (held in conjunction with the Society of Actuaries annual meeting). The luncheon is included in your registration if you are attending the SOA meeting. Academy members who are not attending the SOA meeting may purchase a ticket for $70.
• Sept. 11–12: Life PBR—Test Drive the New VM-20 [9]. Work hands-on with the new reserving requirements in VM-20 and apply them to real-life examples at this seminar.
• Nov. 7–8: P/C Effective Loss Reserve Opinion Seminar: Tools for the Appointed Actuary [10]. Actuaries who write P/C loss reserve opinions and who want to stay up to date on regulations and standards applicable in drafting loss reserve opinions should plan to attend. New workshops and breakout sessions have been added to this year’s seminar.
• Nov. 12–15: Life and Health Qualifications Seminar [11]. This annual seminar is the primary source of instruction for actuaries who wish to be qualified to issue actuarial opinions for either the NAIC Life and A&H Annual Statement or the NAIC Health Annual Statement but may not have met the specific qualification requirements set forth in the U.S. Qualification Standards.

Academy in the News

• In “Future of Benefits a Critical Issue in Presidential Election [12],” a Pensions & Investments article names the Academy as one of 11 organizations representing employee benefits professionals that submitted questions to the presumptive presidential candidates.

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