Annual Meeting Cross Discipline Sessions

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.

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.

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.

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

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, a safety expert, and an actuary join forces to shed some light on this evolving topic.

Resilience is a critical challenge for everyone. COIVD 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.”

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.

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.

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.