Description: T3: TAXING TIMES TIDBITS

Description: GAAP's elimination of gross profit as a basis for amortization of deferred acquisition costs enables the accounting for reinsurance of universal life contracts to better reflect the economic protection provided by reinsurance. This article takes a fresh look at the standards of accounting for universal life contracts and for reinsurance, then puts them together to find the techniques that best account for that protection.

Description: Discussion of the challenges actuaries face in selecting an interest rate for the purpose of calculating Withdrawal Liability for a Multiemployer pension fund in the US. Recent court cases are referenced.

Description: In this third issue of International News in 2022, we feature a contribution by SCOR, a leading reinsurer, highlighting the Actuarial Awards that SCOR presents annually, since 1996, to the best academic work in actuarial science, with annual prizes in several countries throughout the world. We also feature an article by Jessica Leong, FCAS, on barriers that Asian women must overcome to become leaders. Jessica recounts her own experience and how in overcoming some challenges she became the first Asian president of the Casualty Actuarial Society.

Description: Generally accepted accounting practices (GAAP) reporting frameworks are more involved than ever before. From disclosures, to assumption changes, to interest rate movements, uncovering the drivers of income emergence can prove hard to do, and even trickier to communicate. This session will revisit how the updated standards create layers of complexity and offer ways to side step these obstacles to generate useful earnings analysis by various drivers.

Description: This session will explore governance considerations for insurance carriers leveraging machine learning models. During the session, panelists will share insights on the evolving predictive model and AI regulatory landscape, as well as techniques for developing or enhancing AI governance frameworks that comply with emerging regulatory guidance.

Description: Lincoln Financial Group announced the beginning of a two-year data and analytics talent upskilling program with the Society of Actuaries, a global professional organization for actuaries. The SOA will facilitate training for Lincoln employees through a customized multi-phase educational program focusing on big data and predictive analytics.

Description: This is the fourth in a series of articles about accounting for reinsurance under GAAP Targeted Improvements to the Accounting for Long-Duration Contracts (LDTI). It looks at some concerns that arise from the relationship between ceded reinsurance and the underlying contracts. Recognizing a lack of formal guidance addressing these concerns, the article aims mostly to achieve performance and simplicity objectives

Description: The article discusses the recent final and proposed regulations published by the IRS and Treasury on the required minimum distribution rules for qualified plans, which implement changes made by SECURE 1.0 and SECURE 2.0. The article is intended to identify the important rules in the final regulations, provide a framework for determining how the rules apply to beneficiaries of qualified plans and IRAs, describe the key differences between the earlier 2022 proposed regulations and the final regulations, and it summarizes the SECURE 2.0 provisions contained in the new proposed regulations.

Description: Actuaries historically modeled new launches in pharmaceuticals by anticipating the expected change to the market basket. This became more complicated with the recent launches of gene and cell therapies as they address rare diseases. Rare conditions have low total member volume to study and some do not currently have a diagnosis code to identify them within claims data. Addressing this modeling challenge has been growing more important in the recent years with the number of therapies launching. What has the health care industry, and more specifically health care, done to enhance modeling and how should this be altered for the future? Additionally, historic modeling has sometimes incorporated a level of direct medical treatment cost offsets where studies have shown lower treatment costs are achievable. Can gene and cell financial modeling include cost offsets as well? And if so, what are suggested precautions or limitations to this effort?