Academy Pension Accounting Committee Chairperson Steve Alpert quoted as a major telecommunications company moves away from smoothing pension gains and losses.

Two Academy letters to policymakers addressing the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act were cited. The Academy noted actuarial concerns with the long-term care prog

The Academy was cited as the source of an estimate derived from its Social Security Game. According to the Academy's Game, increasing the annual earnings cap on wages subject to Social Security tax to include 90 percent of all wages would reduce Social Security's shortfall by about 37 percent.

On the day before the president's State of the Union address, Academy Public Interest Committee Chairperson Tom Terry discussed why increasing the retirement age should be included in any Social Security reform package. "Increasing life expectancy has led to an expansion of the program's lifetime benefits and system costs, but an increase in the retirement age would help curb this cost growth," he said.

The Academy's "Actuarial State of the Union," in which the Academy recommended increasing the retirement age to restore Social Security's actuarial balance, was discussed. The Academy said that life expectancy improvements have lead to an expansion of lifetime benefits and system costs, and an increase in the retirement age would stem this cost growth. The Academy also said it hopes that policymakers will focus on new policies to better enable employees and retirees to manage longevity, inflation and investment risks.

Academy President-elect David Sandberg discussed the Academy Public Plans Practices Task Force report on "Risk Management and Public Retirement Systems." Sandberg said that it is important for state and local officials to fully understand their risk exposure.

The Academy Consumer-Driven Health Plans (CDHP) Work Group's analysis of CDHP research studies was cited in an op-ed. According to the work group's analysis, high-deductible plans reduce costs between 12 and 20 percent in the first year and between three to five percent annually in the subsequent years.

Rep. Frank Guinta explained a "defined contribution" approach to Medicare reform, as described in the Academy's Medicare Reform Options monograph. According to the Academy, a defined contribution approach means that Congress would define the level of Medicare funding provided to seniors rather than define the level of benefits provided to them. Seniors would receive a fixed dollar amount toward their health coverage, rather than receive guaranteed benefits.

Steve Schoonveld, an Academy representative on long-term care issues, discussed the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act. Schoonveld said that adding eligibility restrictions might limit adverse selection, which is one of the primary concerns that actuaries have with the federal long-term care program.

The Academy Public Plan Practices Task Force's report, "Risk Management and Public Retirement Systems," was cited in an op-ed. As described in the commentary, the report said that "states need to identify conflicts of interest within the system, clearly establish rules to ensure adequate funding and educate administration officials and unions about the economic consequences of policy."