The North American Actuarial Council's request that the Academy draw more attention to Americans' increasing lifespans was discussed. The letter, signed by 15 presidents and presidents-elect of North American actuarial associations, warned that failure to adapt to increasing longevity could threaten the viability of many financial security arrangements.

The Academy's September 2006 issue brief on medical insurance pools was discussed by state Sen. Leonard Fasano. The Connecticut Senate was considering a bill to open the state employee insurance pool to municipal employees on a voluntary basis.

A review of the presidential candidates' positions on reforming Social Security provided a link to the Academy's Social Security Reform Options monograph.

Donna Claire, the chairperson of the Academy's Life Financial Soundness/Risk Management Committee, discussed new mortality tables and their implications for how insurance policies are marketed. 

The Academy's issue brief, Medicare's Financial Condition: Beyond Actuarial Balance, was cited in an editorial. The actuaries wrote,"The sooner the solutions are enacted, the more effective and gradual they can be. Moreover, the early introduction of reforms increases the time available for affected individuals and organizations — including health care providers, beneficiaries and taxpayers — to adjust their expectations."

The Academy's 2006 analysis on the availability and affordability of terrorism risk insurance coverage for the President's Working Group on Financial Markets was cited.

Sam Gutterman's remarks on behalf of the Academy during a July 9 Securities and Exchange Commission roundtable on fair value accounting standards were cited. Gutterman said there was a need to educate corporate officers, boards, auditors, and investors on the issue.

A look at how advances in data crunching are changing science, medicine, business, and technology included an anecdote about how actuaries and the Academy used catastrophe models and terabytes of data to estimate the insured losses that could result from various types of terrorist attacks. The feature also cited the Academy's 2006 analysis of terrorism risk coverage for the President's Working group on Financial Markets.

The Academy's to-be-released statement on the Social Security retirement age was previewed. The Academy's Bruce Schobel said, "You just can't have people living longer and longer and longer, and have the program with a frozen normal retirement age of 67. It just doesn't make sense."

A news conference to announce the Academy's advocacy statement on increasing the Social Security's retirement age was discussed. "Holding the retirement age constant is a certain prescription for future financial problems," said Tom Terry, the Academy's vice president for pension issues.