As defined contribution (DC) plans continue to be the primary vehicle for retirement savings, the need for appropriate education, awareness, and engagement of participants becomes more paramount. Come discuss approaches, tools, and risk associated with helping participants better understand and manage their DC plan prior to retirement.

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Experienced practitioners lead a review of the government responses to questions posed in the 2012 IRS Gray Book and PBGC Blue Book highlighting the practical implications of the answers. Speakers also address any updated information developed since the initial release of these books at the 2012 Enrolled Actuaries Meeting.

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Noted aging and demographic expert Dr. S. Jay Olshansky, who last delivered the keynote speech at the 2006 CCA Annual Meeting and received a standing ovation, discusses the development of a new forecasting methodology known as APC (age-period-cohort).

Instead of predicting the future by looking at the past mortality of extinguishing cohorts, the focus is on exploring the relationship between the health status of living younger cohorts and their prospects for survival. Published results indicate that this new methodology is far more accurate than linear extrapolation -- and there is evidence to suggest that cardiovascular mortality is about to rise in the US among all socio-economic status groups.

Recent work focused on the longevity of population subgroups and disparities in longevity in the US and the evidence to suggest that two Americas have formed -- one group that has already begun to experience declining life expectancy or is about to, and another that is about to benefit from advances in biomedical technology that will extend life more rapidly than is currently forecast by middle-range assumptions of the Social Security Administration.

A new effort is now underway to slow the biological rate of aging, and the difficult work is now being done to transform this research into an intervention that will extend healthy life among most currently living cohorts. Dr. Olshansky describes this effort, some of the ongoing work that is likely to lead to this advance, and the public policy implications of this work in terms of its impact on health, wealth, and quality of life.

In addition to his appearance as the keynote speaker, Dr. Olshansky is participating on the panel at session 13 on "Future Mortality Improvements."

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A diverse panel of pension professionals discusses the latest developments affecting retirement plans on the legislative, regulatory and legal fronts. Among the topics that may be covered are: PPA; 2012 legislation; DOL, IRS, PBGC, and Treasury guidance; and recent court decisions.

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Recent research on retirement income adequacy indicates that many employees may not be on track to retire with adequate income. At the same time, surveys indicate that employees may not be aware of the risks they face during retirement. Our speakers share insights from recent research at Aon Hewitt and the Society of Actuaries.

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The speaker presents plan design options from the simple to the most complex with a focus on real world issues, common problems and practical solutions. Examples include safe harbors, general tested formulas, and cash balance plans.

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As employers strive to control the cost of healthcare, a critical element of programs is the effort to engage the consumer. Without that engagement, both health promotion and care management programs will not produce the results needed. Employers have increased the use of both incentives to encourage behavior change and penalties to put more "skin in the game" to modify behavior. Listen to two employers and a researcher describe the use of both "carrots and sticks" and discuss the savings and return on investment of such efforts.

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Actuaries who have implemented an Employer Group Waiver Plan (EGWP) on behalf of employers discuss their experiences and which employers are best for these programs.

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Public plans receive an extraordinary level of attention from media and reformers. In this session, a prominent critic of public plans from a pension reform organization brings her observations to what promises to be a lively and challenging discussion.

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Internationally mobile staff often suffer significant gaps in social and occupational pension program coverage. Multi-jurisdictional tax, labor, and pension regulations increase the complexity of the problem and potential solutions. The speakers at this session present typical approaches to mitigate this problem and discuss best practices. An actual case with a leading global employer is discussed.

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Hear what is new and what exactly is happening after the events of the past year. Topics include 2012 updates, proxy rules, the impact of PPA, and new legislation affecting these plans.

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Heightened scrutiny of pension and Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) assumptions and results by your client’s accounting firm is currently the order of the day. Actuaries signing actuarial statements of opinions must build into their work processes time for a dialogue with the auditor. Learn how to interpret the questions a signing actuary receives from an accounting firm’s reviewing actuary. Alignment of the reviewing actuary’s needs with the work product requested by the client should minimize time spent by the signing actuary on auditor inquiry and maximize client appreciation for a synchronized, flexible working relationship between actuary and auditor.

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The speakers provide an update on SOA mortality research, alternative views on future mortality improvements, and changes in practice following Actuarial Standard of Practice (ASOP) 35.

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The speakers at this session focus on the issues specific to the workers employed by the retail/restaurant industry as a result of healthcare reform through the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

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Speakers discuss current topics concerning Medicare Parts C & D from the consultant and plan perspectives, including changes to these programs as a result of healthcare reform through the ACA.

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"In a public retirement system, the people are represented by two separate, yet equally important groups. The plan sponsor who establishes and funds the plan and the retirement system who invests the assets and administers the plan. These are their stories."

• In today's challenging economic climate, funding retirement plans is one of the greatest financial challenges, as well as one of the most significant budget issues for plan sponsors. As a result, it is not uncommon for plan sponsors (cities, states, municipalities, etc.) to hire their own actuary (or "hired gun") to provide advice, recommendations, findings, etc. that are consistent with the plans sponsor's financial constraints.
• The retirement system's retained actuary, on the other hand, generally tries to provide advice, recommendations, findings, etc. that are consistent with the system's ultimate goal of sound funding.

Given the possibly divergent goals of their principals, it is entirely possible that the recommendations of these two sets of actuaries will be different even though the basic data and circumstance are the same.

The speakers at this session explore the challenges and conflicts that public plan actuaries may face in serving their principals while also complying with both the Code of Conduct and ASOPs, including the following:

• Do the Code and the ASOPs provide sufficient guidance and support to the actuaries providing different recommendations?
• What other factors and consequences should public plan actuaries consider before taking a “hired gun” assignment?
• Does this situation create “reputational risk” for the actuarial profession, since dueling actuaries encourages the perception that actuaries are just “answers for hire.”

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The current national debate on healthcare reform through the Affordable Care Act in the USA has heightened interest in healthcare policy in other developed economies. The speakers at this session present several social healthcare and private medical plan models and discuss popular methods of integrated medical benefit delivery and typical company practices.

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The speakers examine employer responses to early 2012 Treasury regulations on annuity promotion, dealing with fiduciary issues, and the current state of the annuity market.

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Technological, generational and economic changes produce a wealth of information on current and emerging workforce issues. The ability to interpret and evaluate the available data, identify trends, make targeted recommendations and measure results – core actuarial skills – are critical to winning the war for talent. Panelists provide an overview of the emerging workforce issues and share their real-world experience (as client and consultant) in addressing these challenges.

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Have fun in a collaborative environment where you can test what you know about PPA and ERISA and walk away with knowledge that you will find helpful in servicing your clients.

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Speakers at this session discuss the SOA's "Retirement 20/20" project as well as the Academy and SOA's joint "Retirement for the Ages" project.

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Speakers on this panel review recent court decisions affecting pension actuaries and pension plans, and provide insight on plan design and administration considerations.

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To gear up for the Affordable Care Act’s major provisions scheduled to take effect in 2014, regulations governing the implementation are issued frequently. The American Academy of Actuaries serves as a resource to the state and federal regulators who are drafting these rules. After a brief presentation, speakers at this interactive session provide a forum for health actuaries to ask panelists about the latest developments in healthcare reform implementation, the Academy’s involvement in the regulatory process, and the actuarial profession’s role in proving input to the public policy process.

At the conclusion of the session, attendees should have a better understanding of new healthcare reform developments and the actuarial profession’s role in the public policy process.

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ASOP 6, Measuring Retiree Group Benefits Obligations and Determining Retiree Group Benefits Plan Costs or Contributions, is undergoing a number of revisions. The speakers discuss the key elements of the revised ASOP and illustrate examples of the ASOP’s application to the selection of assumptions and methods for reflecting healthcare reform and its impact on retiree medical obligations.

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Public retirement systems are not subject to any Federal (ERISA/IRS/PPA equivalent) minimum funding requirements. In fact, plan sponsors are not required to prefund public retirement system liabilities at all. Furthermore, while some plans sponsors relied on the GASB Annual Required Contribution (ARC) as a quasi-funding standard, impending changes in the GASB reporting and disclosure standards eliminate the GASB ARC as a source of guidance on funding policy.

For reasons of long-term cost savings, benefit security and discipline, most jurisdictions have elected to prefund their plans by developing some form of pension funding policy. However, due to the lack of specific minimum funding requirements, and the broad range of allowable practices under current accounting rules, retirement systems currently are not only funded to varying degrees but have policies that vary widely as to how funding shortfalls will be remedied in the future.

Jurisdictions must develop fiscally sound funding policies for their public pension systems and then have the discipline to follow them. But what constitutes a fiscally sound funding policy? What body, if any, should be responsible for monitoring compliance with the funding policy? These questions are particularly relevant in a post-ARC environment.

The speakers discuss funding policy for public plans including the following topics:

• Funding policy after the ARC; what body, if any, is responsible for developing and monitoring adherence to funding policy guidelines or requirements;
• The funding policy of public pension plans in Texas and related responsibilities of the Texas Pension Review Board;
• The California Actuarial Advisory Panel's Model Funding Policies and Practices; and
• Government Finance Officers Association's (GFOA) emerging work on “best practices” for public plan funding policies.

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Many employers are actively moving to get out of the pension business and develop strategies to de-risk and exit their defined benefit provisions. Panelists speak to the latest approaches being employed in Canada and the United Kingdom.

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Plan terminations require a plethora of government filings, mandatory communications with participants, and other administrative tasks—each with its own timing requirements and consequences—that significantly impact a plan termination’s timing. Learn how to shepherd plan sponsors through the plan termination maze.

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Do you think withdrawal liability is the fee for removing money at an ATM, or that the green zone is a plastics-free environment? If so, this session is for you. The speakers discuss withdrawal liability including complete withdrawal, partial withdrawal, mass withdrawal, and payment schedules. An overview of the funding requirements for multiemployer plans and the differences between single employer and multiemployer funding is also presented.

While this session is geared toward single employer actuaries, experienced multiemployer actuaries should find the review of these topics helpful.

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With over $2 trillion in retirement plan obligations, pension plan sponsors are looking for ways to better manage liability and asset risks associated with ongoing and legacy pension plans. The speakers discuss approaches to mitigate risk at both the plan and organizational level with a focus on emerging strategies in the arenas of plan design, investments and settlements.

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Healthcare reform through ACA generated new interest in defined contribution strategies for employers and private exchanges that facilitate this strategy. Join us for a discussion with several industry innovators in these new programs.

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The speakers at this session continue the discussion related to the development of Accountable Care Organizations and their potential impact on bending the cost curve.

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The sluggish economy renewed attention by the media and policy makers on the expected long-term rates of return (discount rates) used for public plans. Many argue that the rates used in the actuarial valuations are too high. The speakers at this session explore the roles of the actuary and the investment consultant in developing recommended rates of return for valuing pension liabilities, including the process each uses in determining their market expectations. Also discussed are ASOP 27 changes as well as the use of arithmetic and geometric means in setting future return expectations.

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Speakers discuss the recent turmoil in the European Union and its impact on the pensions environment with particular focus on the short-term austerity measure being taken by European governments, and likely long-term changes to the regulatory environment.

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Understanding our client’s financial health is critical context for the work for the work of the consulting actuary. The panelists at this session discuss financial analysis – the examination of the balance sheet and income statement, and discussion of common measurements – debt and other ratios, cash flow and income statement measures, and the footnote disclosures that give financial analysts insight and standards of comparison to better understand the financial health of an organization and the financial and other risks that may affect the organization. The concept of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) is also discussed.

At the conclusion of this session, attendees should understand:

• Accounting rules and accounting standards for financial statement preparation and presentation;
• Common measurements for assets, liabilities, debt and cash flow;
• Perspective on common measurement levels by type of employer and industry;
• Identifying areas of financial risk for companies; and
• Identifying operational risk through the management letter and footnote disclosure.

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PPA gave the "all clear" for cash balance and other hybrid plans. However, the path to compliance hasn't been without turbulence. The speakers discuss recent developments in regulatory guidance and plan design.

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Representatives from the PBGC discuss recent and pending guidance, court cases, compliance and filing issues. Ample time is allotted for attendee questions.

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Pension plan sponsors deal with a myriad of questions regarding compliance. Speakers also discuss how sponsors use technology in the administration of these plans.

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The speakers at this session focus on exchange administrator and employer strategies being developed now in advance of the initiation of state healthcare exchanges to be in place in 2014 as a result of PPACA. Hear from consultants working with employers on their advance strategies as well as administrators who expect to participate as exchange partners. The panelists share their perspectives on the issues arising in various states from across the country.

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Past innovations in the Medicare program sometimes worked and sometimes didn't. Examples of new programs currently being tested include bundled payments, accountable care organizations and patient-centered homes. Come have an open discussion about these and other programs intended to bend the cost curve and debate on whether or not they could also work in the private sector.

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Speakers provide a survey of plan design trends and the legal constraints on reducing benefits for current participants or for future participants. The panelists also discuss hybrid plan design including both cash balance plans and DB/DC combination plans.

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With global companies looking for new growth opportunities around the world, interest in emerging market economies has increased tremendously over the past several years. Panelists discuss the labor market challenges and opportunities in selected countries while investigating the rapid changes in both public and private benefit plans and retirement systems that have recently emerged. Expected future developments are also addressed.

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Members of the Actuarial Standards Board provide an update on ASB activities and answer attendee questions regarding newly released ASOPs, exposure drafts and ASOPs on the horizon. The audience participants are given the opportunity to share their concerns and ideas with the ASB.

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Communicating with clients can be challenging for actuaries even under the best of circumstances. Clients may not appreciate the complexities of actuarial work or recognize how changes in circumstances can impact calculations, projections and recommendations. When the news is bad, clients face difficult decisions or actuaries have to disclose mistakes, communications can be even more difficult. Speakers at this interactive session provide practical advice on how to help actuaries communicate with their clients in a highly professional way. Topics include:

• Satisfying the actuary's responsibilities under the Code of Professional Conduct and Actuarial Standards of Practice;
• Recognizing common communication pitfalls;
• Identifying and tailoring communications that are likely to be difficult;
• Timing communications;
• Choosing among communications media;
• Establishing and maintaining a stream of communications;
• Minimizing legal risks when communicating bad news; and
• Documenting communications.

Participants leave with a series of tools and suggestions to help them communicate more effectively with clients, especially in difficult situations.

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In recent years, the PBGC aggressively pursued employers who maintain ongoing plans for up to the full amount of the plan’s termination liability, based on certain asserted downsizing events. These events include not only full plant shutdowns, but also going-concern asset sales, transfers of operations to other locations, and the discontinuance of only one of several operations at a particular location. Learn how to plan effectively for such an event and how to deal effectively with a PBGC demand for downsizing liability.

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Speakers cover benefit restrictions under PPA including a brief overview of the rules and how to anticipate and avoid the restrictions.

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PPA completely changed funding rules as they existed for decades. With the financial crisis of 2008 and continued low interest rates, various forms of relief were granted. Yet another round of changes has been introduced as MAP-21 was recently signed into law by President Obama. Speakers at this session focus on the evolution of this pension funding stabilization in MAP-21 and the potential aggregate effect on U.S. plans.

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The amount of care provided in alternative locations to physicians' offices and hospitals over the last five years has accelerated. Employers are establishing on-site and near-site clinics to handle simple - and in some cases more complex - healthcare needs and to serve as champions of health and wellness programs. Thousands of urgent care clinics - in pharmacies, grocery stores, big box retailer and free standing - have opened and are providing care at lower prices and with more convenient hours than at doctors' offices. If another 30 million or so people receive healthcare coverage as a result of the Affordable Care Act, these non-traditional delivery settings could become important providers of care for employees covered under their employers' health plans. In this session, an employer describes his company's effective and popular on-site clinics, a consultant MD discusses best practices in on-site and near-site clinics, and a manager of urgent care clinics describes the current state and expected growth of this care delivery platform.

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In the wake of the Supreme Court decision on the constitutionality of certain aspects of PPACA, and in anticipation of the upcoming elections, uncertainty over the future of healthcare and health insurance in the U.S. is at an all-time high.

Please join us for an update on recent activity and informed speculation on the future outcomes that affect you and your clients.

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The public pension accounting rules have just undergone the most sweeping overhaul in their history. Even though the new rules are not immediately effective, now is the time to find out what's changed and how these changes affect our understanding of the cost of public pensions. The panel includes both actuarial experts and a representative from the staff of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board.

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The deadline to convert tax qualified pension plans has finally passed. Our panelists speak to how companies have complied with the new regulations. An actual client case study is also presented. Finally, the speakers anticipate where the market is headed in the retirement arena.

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The speakers at this session focus on how to identify and manage all risk from a holistic perspective.

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This is an excellent opportunity for attendees to ask questions and discuss important developments with representatives of the IRS. Don't miss your chance to (possibly) get answers to some questions that have been troubling you.

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Construction and interpretation of the yield curve for accounting and funding.

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PRA 2010 added "Eligible Charity Plans" to PPA section 104; including delayed PPA effective dates and funding relief. Guidance is still lacking. At this session, practitioners discuss these plans, regulatory concerns, and approaches taken at navigating backwards to the pre-PPA rules after several years of following PPA. Audience participation is encouraged.

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The passage of the Affordable Care Act opens opportunities for employers to revisit the strategic direction supporting their retiree medical plans. Speakers at this session provide an employer’s perspective on the impact of ACA on their retiree medical plans. They discuss the changes they’ve made to date, alternate approaches they considered, and how they intend to respond in the future.

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By the time you arrive in Boca Raton, you’ll be saturated with political ads extolling the virtues/evils of healthcare reform as it stands following the Supreme Court’s ruling. The panelists at this session facilitate a timely and interactive discussion on what is right or what is wrong with healthcare reform on the doorstep of the 2012 presidential election. Specifically, if actuaries ruled “Healthcare World,” what would they prescribe in terms of technical and policy changes to enact an efficient and equitable system of healthcare financing, insurance and delivery? How will reform – in whatever shape it ultimately takes – either achieve or fail to reach its stated goals? For this session, participants are assigned to debating teams tasked with advocating a pro or con position with respect to some of the key issues underlying reform. Debate topics include issues such as the individual mandate, the employer pay-or-play rule, the role of federal subsidies in enhancing coverage affordability, the impact on underwriting reforms on rating and risk, and the role of private insurers in a system moving dramatically toward a more prominent federal role. The debating teams are then asked to prepare and present their arguments, with audience participation encouraged to enhance the value of the debate for all participants. Come and have your opinions heard (and challenged) by your peers!

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Join your public plan colleagues in an open discussion of current issues facing public plan actuaries and the systems they serve.

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Speakers discuss the recent developments in the market for Pan-European pension, with a focus on the regulatory environment and the practical issues surrounding implementation.

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Social media has truly been a transformational force in our society over the last ten years as we’ve witnessed the birth of an entirely new industry dedicated to facilitating online sharing.

Relevant to consulting actuaries, social media is a means of building a brand – whether it’s an individual brand, a company brand, or a professional brand. Information is exchanged in ever more creative ways. Information arbitrage has been turned upside down. And we’re seeing individuals and businesses engaging and cooperating in entirely new and surprisingly profitable ways.

Our panel will share their personal experiences with social media. We’ll hear from a consulting actuary who has been a close follower – and user – of social media for several years, who will share tips for getting started at building a personal and professional brand.

We’ll also hear from two prominent pioneers of social media, the Winklevoss twins, who will share their insights into the early growth of this phenomena as well as their more current experiences with developing and growing a business that is heavily social media reliant.

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The issues we touch on a day-to-day basis periodically appear in the media in a less than favorable light. The result is a public perception that directly challenges the integrity of the actuarial profession, and impacts the day-to-day practice of consultants. Some examples include the use of corporate-owned life insurance for financing employee benefits, the switch from traditional to cash balance pension plans, and maximizing qualified plan benefits for executives. Is the media perception unwarranted, true or somewhere in between? Hear contrasting perspectives on these issues involving ethical dilemmas and issues concerning integrity in the profession from some of your favorite actuaries and share your own views on these important topics.

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