Three Actuarial Standards of Practice (ASOP) recently became effective:

• ASOP 27 – Selection of Economic Assumptions for Measure Pension Obligations, effective August 1, 2021;
• ASOP 32 – Social Insurance, effective September 2, 2021; and
• ASOP 35 – Selection of Demographic and Other Noneconomic Assumptions for Measuring Pension Obligations, effective August 1, 2021.

ASOP 38 – Catastrophe Modeling (for All Practice Areas) will become effective December 1, 2021. In addition, the new ASOP Setting Assumptions was released as the third exposure draft with an April 15, 2021 comment deadline and ASOP 4 – Measuring Pension Obligations and Determining Pension Plan Costs or Contributions was released as a third exposure draft with an October 15, 2021 comment deadline. Panelists at this session discuss the changes to these ASOPs and how those changes may affect your consulting practice.

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The CCA’s Business Session begins with the welcoming of attendees, announcement of new directors, Treasurer’s Report and presentation of the CCA’s annual awards. Dr. Ivan Joseph will immediately follow with this year's keynote presentation "Diversity and Inclusion in a High-Performance Culture." A culture of inclusivity is a culture of high performance. Likely you’re prioritizing diversity and inclusion. And, you’ve had setbacks—and need some fresh ideas and inspiration! Dr. Ivan Joseph shares practical and proven strategies to build an inclusive culture. An authority on retention of under-represented populations in predominantly white organizations, Dr. Joseph also speaks movingly from his own experience. He has overcome challenges, broken barriers, and led a transformation toward inclusivity in every organization he’s worked for.

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Speakers discuss the latest developments in the private pension sector. Recent rulings and regulations - proposed and final - are covered, in addition to pending retirement plan legislation and recent litigation activity.

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Panelists discuss how nonqualified plans fit into an executive's overall financial plan. Speakers at this consider the effect of recent and proposed tax changes, as well as the impact of other changes in the environment, on how participants and plan sponsors view these plans.

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You tell me that it's evolution; Well, you know; We all want to change the world. A lot has evolved in the pension annuity purchase market over the last few years. Speaker address some of that evolution including the increasing market size, the use of independent fiduciaries, assets-in-kind transactions, the use of reinsurance, and other issues affecting the marketplace. We’ll also briefly touch on plan termination issues, but those will be more fully covered in “Lessons Learned from Plan Terminations” (Session 401).

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The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) is arguably the most impactful piece of multiemployer legislation in recent history. ARPA set up a Special Financial Assistance program administered by the PBGC to provide substantial federal relief to deeply troubled multiemployer plans. While the intent of the legislation to provide substantial relief was clear, many details were left to the regulatory process and PBGC released interim final regulations for the Special Financial Assistance program on July 9, 2021. Representatives of the PBGC discuss the guidance in detail including the application process, the calculation of the amount of federal assistance, eligible plans, and operation and investment restrictions for plans that receive assistance.

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Speakers examine both technical and consulting challenges that arise when recommending expected return assumptions for public pension plans. They start by drilling down on some technical pitfalls, including how – and how not – to develop portfolio return statistics, mapping capital market assumptions from various sources, and even a review of the roles of arithmetic and geometric expected returns. Then speakers investigate the overlapping roles and responsibilities of the actuary and the investment consultant. How should the trustees understand differences between our often very different expected returns? And how can we work together to bring the trustees to a prudent understanding of the relationship between asset allocation and the actuary’s investment return assumption?

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The pandemic and governments’ reactions to it have had a seismic impact on the workplace. Even for “knowledge workers” whose work wasn’t interrupted, travel (to the office or to client sites) was severely curtailed or eliminated, and the use of video conferencing soared. Our speakers share their views of how the workplace (both the consulting actuary’s and his/her client’s) will evolve, and whether any type of “return to normal” is possible. They’ll also discuss the variety of challenges the new workplace will pose, including managing projects and coordinating workflow, training (particularly for new hires and junior staff), achieving trust between team members, and ensuring effective communication of complex compensation and benefits concepts.

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The pharmaceutical landscape has been changing rapidly in the last decade. More and more of the spend on pharmaceutical drugs is being shifted to the medical benefit. Oncology, gene therapy, and many of the immunomodulators are now administered in a doctor’s office. New methods of forecasting and benefit management need to be considered when looking to the future. Where will these techniques come from? In this session the presenters discuss the history of pharmacy benefit forecasting and management and the emerging techniques that require a unique combination of methodologies from other actuarial disciplines.

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Inefficiencies, high-cost, and gaps in care in the US healthcare system have created opportunities for innovative solutions to offer value to health plans and plan sponsors. This engaging session features leading experts who have spent years developing solutions for health plans as consultants and as strategic leaders within various innovative solution providers. The panel addresses where the biggest opportunities lie to reduce cost and improve care, as well as the various types of programs that have been proven to drive results.

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(Polling Included) Pension actuaries must consider how COVID-19 will affect the assumptions used in valuing pension plan obligations. Mortality is a natural assumption to start with, but the pandemic has dramatically affected the economy and workforce demographic patterns and will likely affect several assumptions. Speakers share how they are approaching this critical topic.

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PBGC representatives discuss current topics and issues relevant to single and multiemployer retirement plans.

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Panelists address issues surrounding participant behavior and how predictive analytics can (or cannot) be used to identify patterns.

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ARPA has changed the regulatory environment for corporate pension plans, loosening funding requirements and rules about benefit restrictions. The capital market environment has evolved in ways that few would have anticipated. Speakers review case studies that help sponsors reevaluate their funding and de-risking strategies, and showcase other new approaches emerging in the de-risking space, including the use of derivatives overlays.

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What data resources are available to actuaries and how can they help? Presenters showcase their publicly available data surveys and visualization tools, as well as ongoing updates, that can help actuaries gather and communicate nationwide pension information.

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Presenters explore the range of business cyber risks, their effect on the employee benefits industry, and the use of cyber risk insurance.

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The pandemic and our response to it have sent shockwaves through the country. Economies, systems, governments, employers, and families have all felt the impact. Our health care system was not spared given its critical connection to those entities. The system reacted to massive demand reduction for many services and massive demand increase for others and the impact continues to evolve. Some of the consequences are reflected in claims experience health actuaries study every day. Our panelists offer several illustrations of the pandemic impact on things like total costs and service specific utilization patterns. Additionally, they provide opinions on the persistence of the experience changes the data has revealed.

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(Polling Included) Fiduciaries play a vital role in administering retirement plans, and the stakes are high, as a breach of duties can lead to personal liability. The speakers cover who is considered a plan fiduciary, the roles and responsibilities of a fiduciary, and best practices for protecting oneself in the event of a lawsuit or government audit.

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Outwit. Outplay. Outlast. Come prepared to take on other EAs in this exciting game of EA trivia. You’ll need your HP-12C, a computer/tablet/phone with an internet connection, and lots of stamina to make it through this grueling 75-minute session of past EA exam questions. At stake is eternal EA glory to brag about for years to come (some of our past winners are still bragging).

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What methods exist to put an overfunded plan to good use for small plans? Speakers discuss the tools as well as introduce new approaches to handling current or potential overfunded situations.

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(Polling Included) Watch actuaries debate late-breaking issues affecting multiemployer actuaries. After each topic is addressed, the audience votes for the winner of each subject.

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Speakers evaluate alternatives to traditional cash contributions to fund public pension plans. They explore the public finance perspective of transferring in-kind assets, privatizing assets with public private partnerships, dedicating revenue streams and other ways of potentially capitalizing underutilized public assets to fund pensions. They also discuss Public Obligation Bonds (POBs) and how actuaries can help their clients evaluate the impact these proceeds can have on the long-term funding plan.

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While marijuana is a federally illegal substance, many states allow marijuana use for medical reasons, and some allow it recreational use. Marijuana use conflicts with zero-tolerance workplace policies and may negatively impact workplace performance and safety and workers’ health. How companies deal with these complicated issues can result in discrimination suits and negatively impact employee morale. A lawyer and an award-winning journalist shed some light on this evolving topic.

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Actuarial exams seem to be continuously changing so what do students learn taking the health track? Speakers give an overview of the health track topics and then discuss what students are learning in universities to supplement the actuarial exams. Gain a better understanding of what your new hire is capable of doing and how basic actuarial education has changed.

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COVID-19 has shined a bright light on Social Determinants of Health (SDOH), public health and how we are all intertwined. How can we think differently about how we design and support healthcare for all? In this session, speakers discuss how organizations are looking at SDOH and incorporating it into delivering healthcare to their covered populations.

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Consultants and other providers have learned numerous lessons from the increased activity around plan terminations. Speakers discuss what works and what doesn’t, along with what’s on the horizon as plan termination work continues to grow.

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(Polling included) Accounting for defined benefit pension plans presents its own challenges whether due to differences in accounting standards (IFRS, US GAAP), changes in audit procedures and standards, or client activities that occur during the year (mergers, acquisitions, curtailment, settlement, plan amendments, special termination benefits, etc.). At this session, the speakers discuss some of the questions and situations that arise requiring further consultation and provide an update on what to anticipate for the upcoming fiscal year-end disclosure season.

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Speakers at this session focus on some of the finer points of plan administration that may only impact a small percentage of a plan’s population but can cause some of the biggest headaches if not properly addressed. Potential topics include required minimum distributions, actuarial increases, suspension of benefits notices, QDROs, top 25 lump sum restrictions, and missing participants.

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On Friday, July 9th, PBGC released interim final guidance to implement the special financial assistance program authorized in the American Rescue Plan Act. Plan practitioners discuss the practical applications of the guidance, and what the guidance means for deeply troubled plans, the solvency of the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation, and the broader multiemployer community.

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With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the first quarter, 2020 proved unique with regard to all aspects of public pension plans across the US, regardless of the size of membership or assets. Come join our panel presentation for an in-depth discussion of “the 2020 effect” on plan experience, funding and contributions, benefit provisions and actuarial assumptions (economic and demographic), as well as asset allocation and performance. During this discussion, our speakers consider the potential short-term and long-term impacts of “the 2020 effect” on public pension plans.

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Resilience is a critical challenge for everyone. COVID shined a spotlight on these challenges and brought them to the forefront. Businesses transformed, employees faced new challenges and stress levels soared. What have we learned from our experiences and what can we do going forward to be better prepared? A panel of senior human resources, finance and mental health executives share their experiences and guidance on the challenges they faced, how they addressed them, and how to better position your organization, employees and yourself in the new “normal.”

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Workshop discussion on any retiree medical valuation issue the group wants to talk about, except per capita costs by age. What does that leave? How about initial per capita costs, trend rates given a recovery from the pandemic, mortality and retirement incidence assumptions, and last year of life valuation methods (including what is being used in Medicare projections).

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Gradient boosting, neural networks, Area Under the Curve and all those technical things will be covered in the session immediately following this one. This session is not going to be technical, but we will predict in advance, based on the panel’s resumes, it will be informative. Actuaries are tackling some very interesting business problems using predictive analytics and presenters will showcase a few use cases. Predictive analytics provides significant improvement in accuracy in many use cases, but there are also risks associated with using advanced analytics that the panel will address. One of the biggest challenges of predictive analytics is it has the reputation of being a “black box” as it lacks the transparency of more traditional actuarial tools. Reputations can be deceiving, and this panel will share some best practices in peer review and tailoring communications to different audiences of stakeholders so that everyone can leverage the value of the “black box.”

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The pace of merger and acquisition activity continues to accelerate, and integrating diverse workforces has never been more important. Bringing together the benefit programs from two legacy organizations raises a host of actuarial, accounting, compliance, and human resource issues. Presenters at this session share their experience and provide strategic insight on what drives a successful outcome.

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The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 was the most significant single-employer pension plan funding legislation since the Pension Protection Act of 2006. Panelists provide a brief overview of the single-employer pension plan provisions in ARPA, review any related regulatory guidance, and discuss various funding strategies and implications a plan sponsor may want to consider in response to the new legislation.

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Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) provides a way for plan sponsors to voluntarily correct plan errors. Speakers provide an overview how the program works, and other issues relating to correction of errors.

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Interest rates have been at "historic low levels" for most of the last decade. Obviously, a strong reliance on expansionary monetary policy has played a big part in this trend. Market analysts also point to enabling factors such as low growth, aging demographics and a shift towards technology and services. Will the outlook for interest rates change going forward? What is the impact on employer retirement programs, DB and DC, corporate and public? Speakers at this session provide insights from capital market experts focused on these issues, and summarize learnings from a recent SOA study.

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The 2019 CCA Annual Meeting included a session where groups that advocate for positions and practices regarding public pension plans discussed their recent activities, including how their positions have evolved on the “DB-DC debate” for public plans. This year we are inviting representatives from two such groups, Pew and Equable, to sit down with groups representing public plans, NASRA and NCTR, to discuss these policy groups from an industry observers’ perspective, including their policy goals, funding sources, and recent activities. In effect, we will be both talking about and hearing from groups that advocate for positions and practices regarding public pension plans. Please join us for what promises to be a sparkling exchange.

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Conflict is inevitable, and is a normal part of any healthy relationship. We can’t be expected to agree with everyone all the time. Conflict occurs in all of our relationships: family, friends, colleagues, direct reports, leaders, clients. But it’s not all gloom and doom, there are learnable skills that provide the foundation needed to navigate conflicts in all these relationships. Speakers at this session focus on improving your playbook for this extremely versatile "soft" skill.

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The American Academy of Actuaries released the ASOP 6 Practice Note in March 2021. Have you read through all 44 pages? Have any questions? Several members of the work group have agreed to make a presentation with plenty of time to provide all the answers.

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This session is a more technical follow up to session 409 (“Predictive Analytics: Communicating Strategy and Value to Your Stakeholders”) and focuses on the details around how specific predictive analytic solutions can be implemented in practice. Panelists present more in-depth examples demonstrating techniques used to perform the analysis and modeling for applications similar to those described in the preceding session, attendance at which is helpful but not required. This is intended for those who want to learn more about how these solutions can be implemented in practice, what software tools are commonly used, and what types of coding skills may be required. Some coding and related software applications may be discussed. It is expected to be highly technical and focused on the “how to” aspects of implementing these solutions.

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(Polling included) Come ready to share your opinion as panelists discuss cases with ethical issues and implications.

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(Polling Included) Panelists discuss recent professionalism-based issues in the actuarial profession. The Code of Professional Conduct and Actuarial Standards of Practice (i.e. ASOPs) are addressed, along with case studies to provide an interactive experience between the panelists and the audience.

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Leaders from all professions are focused on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Speakers at this forum focus on the inclusion aspect of DE&I. Come and learn how what you say and do can help promote inclusiveness. Whether you desire to be a leader within the profession, within your organization, or even within your teams, the Leadership Development Community (previously the Emerging Leaders Community) provides you with opportunities to gain new skills and understanding to help you achieve your goals. This community is where aspiring and established leaders come together to share their experiences in becoming actuarial leaders and discuss challenges they have faced along the way. Community membership is not required to attend.

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Learn about strategies to follow and pitfalls to avoid when dealing with a wide variety of PBGC issues related to defined benefit plans. Topics covered include reportable events, corporate transactions (bankruptcy, 4062(e), dividend recaps), audits, missed contributions and more.

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(Polling Included) The Code of Professional Conduct and ASOPs provide a strong professional framework, but what happens when you fall into the gray area of professional judgement? What if your judgement is called into question? Come ready to discuss case studies related to the gray area of professional judgement. Not to be confused with the ethics sessions, this discussion will focus on professional judgement.

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Social Security has been the cornerstone of retirement income for millions of Americans since its introduction in 1935. Much has changed over the years, yet the last major reforms to the Social Security were in the early-1980s. The system is rapidly drawing down its financial reserves and will be unable to pay full benefits in the near future. Speakers at this session provide an overview of the current system, identify some areas for improvement, and offer insightful thoughts on how to address the projected deficits.

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The group annuity market is becoming more competitive as insurers adopt new corporate structures that facilitate higher-yielding investing approaches. Plan sponsors can benefit from more aggressive pricing, but at the same time there may be new concerns about potential emerging risks. Practitioners who advise clients on risk transfer strategies will want to understand the new landscape. Investment experts will be interested in understanding the new investment strategies and the securities that underlie them.

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Public pension plans are often the topic of contentious debate and headline news. This scrutiny generally does not include enough information on the history of public pension plans necessary to have an informed and productive understanding and discussion of the issues. Speakers in this session discuss the evolution of funded status, funding policies, key actuarial assumptions and investment decisions, plan demographics, benefit design, communications and risk assessments as practices pertaining to public pension plans have grown and changed over time.

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There are dramatic demographic changes taking place in the United States. Beyond the increased mortality resulting from COVID-19, changes in birth rates, immigration rates and intra-US mobility rates, among other shifts, are changing the demographic make-up of the country, with current and future impacts on society in general, social insurance programs and employee benefit plans. Speakers provide brief remarks to set the stage, followed by a lively panel discussion.

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COVID-19 has disrupted almost every aspect of our daily lives. Some outcomes of the pandemic are a significant increase in virtual health utilization and an increase in mental health issues. Are virtual doctor visits finally more accepted and here to stay? Will virtual health provide better access to mental health providers? Speakers at this session answer these questions as they discuss virtual health utilization and outcomes generally and more specific to mental health pre-, during and post-pandemic.

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The No Surprises Act, signed at the end of 2020, contains protections that hold consumers harmless from the cost of unanticipated out-of-network medical bills. Speakers address this and other potential legislation that may be in development.

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Meeting the needs of employees in retirement can be challenging. Speakers discuss how innovative designs being implemented in Canada and financial wellness designs in the US are changing the retirement planning discussion within many diverse workforces. Also, an actuary from the plan sponsor side shares the effect of emerging conversations from a plan sponsor’s perspective.

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(Polling Included) ASOP 56 Modeling became effective October 1, 2020. Speaker discuss this important new ASOP and address how it applies to your daily work.

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When a large plan actuary changes jobs and becomes a small plan actuary how does his or her life change? What don’t you need to know anymore and what do you now need to know that you never had to think about before? Speakers discuss many of the differences to assist the actuary transitioning from the large-plan world to the small-plan world.

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Withdrawal liability has been around since 1980 and has often been described as a double-edged sword. More and more plans and participating employers now pay close attention to its impacts. The panelists discuss several withdrawal liability topics including the effect of the recently passed ARPA on withdrawal liability, several technical partial withdrawal issues, new legal cases in the emerging area of withdrawal liability discount rates and other miscellaneous issues of interest.

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(Polling Included) The Public Plans Open Forum is an opportunity for attendees to identify topics for informal discussion among your colleagues. The session leaders will also have a list of pre-determined topics, which may include economic assumptions, mortality tables, dealing with the impacts of COVID-19, Section 415 limits, recently adopted and proposed changes to the ASOPs, and other current issues of interest to public sector practitioners.

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In this interactive discussion, a client panel describes the challenges they face and how their consulting actuary can be a trusted advisor to help solve their issues and help proactively address emerging concerns.

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Would you like to glean insights into how “the other side” thinks? Join us to hear how providers, ACOs, employers, and payers are approaching value-based care agreements pre- and post-pandemic. Speakers discuss: • Case studies highlighting real-world value-based care contracting and performance scenarios; • “I’m supposed to measure what??” and “How do I get paid??” aka, immediate practical issues such as historical performance and future baseline measurements that rely upon data periods impacted by the pandemic; • (Re)defining value and performance; and • Is anything actually different? Forward-looking perspectives on robust contracting.

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(Polling included) Speakers highlight current topics in Medicare Advantage and Part D using an interactive format with presentations and audience polling. Topics may include Medicare Advantage, Part D, and retiree medical plans.

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The closing session features an address by the CCA President and President-Elect, and the passing of the gavel. Dr. Rick Brinkman’s presentation immediately follows. Conscious Communication® is based on the belief that good communication skills are the foundation of relationships and the lifeblood of effective leadership, teamwork, and organizational performance. Successful leadership and organizational productivity are a direct result of the ability to communicate effectively whether in a supervisory, team member or service personnel role. Just as some people bring out your best and other people bring out your worst, you can bring out the best in other people at their worst. It’s simply a matter of understanding where they are coming from and what is likely to work best with them. In a dynamic and entertaining manner, Dr. Rick’s message hits home with situations that people find themselves in every day, and empowers them with practical solutions.

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