Description: This article explores the market volatility of 2008, and addresses the following question: “was the market behaving inefficiently as appeared to be the case in 2008, or was there something truly rational going on, which for most people was hard to see?”

Description: This article describes behavioral finance and its relevance in identifying analytics and processes suitable for a control environment for the actuarial aspects of an insurance company.

Description: an excerpt from a speech discussing how experts can become so immersed in their work that they cannot see how their profession relates to and affects society. This is excerpted, with permission, from Mr. Anderson’s speech, “Strategic Planning for Corporate Growth,” to the Chemical Marketing Research Assn.

Description: This document provides answers to the exercises in the report titled Complexity Science – an introduction and invitation for actuaries:.

Description: Article focuses on a number of strategies that can be used to improve results in a DC plan. It is based on information from several outside sources. It encourages people with DB backgrounds to learn more about DC issues.

Description: This is a review of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s book, Good Business: Leadership, Flow and the Making of Meaning.

Description: A review of the book "The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty" by Dan Ariely. The book is about lying, cheating, stealing, and shaving the truth -- something done by everybody, but the factors influencing this can be a bit surprising.

Description: For a long time the primary focus of private LTC insurance companies has been to educate the public about the need for private LTC insurance and to make the product more acceptable to a wider population. To this end there have been numerous changes to the product design to make this product more acceptable to general population. However, one of the things that may have been overlooked in those product design changes is the need for alignment of policyholder and insurance company’s interests, which is to make coverage more affordable and to reduce adverse selection. Incentivizing good behavior from policyholders can not only make LTC insurance policies less expensive but also help policyholders make better health choices, which can help them stay healthy for a longer time. These incentives may also reduce some of the inherent risks in a long term care policy and may help in increasing the sales of private LTC insurance.

Description: Retirees and their advisors should construct diversified portfolios of retirement income, allocating among various retirement income classes that include Social Security, annuities, and systematic withdrawals from invested assets. This essay discusses the pros and cons of various retirement income generators and the issues with constructing retirement income portfolios.

Description: This session discusses current trends in retirement decision making, retirement incentives, the impact of conditions in the local and national economy on a person's decision to retire. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Volume 27, No. 1, Session