2012 CCA Audiocast Schedule
All CCA audiocasts are hosted by the Conference of Consulting Actuaries and cosponsored by the American Academy of Actuaries, the Canadian Institute of Actuaries, and CONAC. Click here to skip down to the registration policies and rates.
Previous CCA Audiocasts
Medicare Update
01/11/2012 - 12:30 – 1:45 PM ET
Credits:
CPD 1.50
This audiocast provides an update on the Medicare program, including
- Recent program changes and related issues;
- The landscape for private plan availability in 2012 (Medicare Advantage and Part D plans);
- Current status of deficit reduction discussions related to Medicare reform; and
- Medicare's new programs related to Accountable Care Organizations.
Speakers:
1.
Stuart H. Alden
- Towers Watson
2.
Juliette Cubanski
- Kaiser Family Foundation
3.
John D. Shatto
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Svcs.
Multiemployer Issues for Single Employer Actuaries
01/25/2012 - 12:30 – 1:45 PM ET
Credits:
EA Core 1.50 CPD 1.50
If the last time you reviewed multiemployer plan basics was to prepare for your EA exams, this session is for you. Diversify your knowledge base, as experienced multiemployer actuaries present what every single employer actuary should know about multiemployer plans in the post-PPA multiemployer world. Presenters provide a fact-based analysis of the key issues, including:
- Funding;
- Withdrawal liability;
- Disclosures; and
- Differences between single and multiemployer funding.
Speakers:
1.
Alice Pegel Stuart
- Towers Watson
2.
Joseph F. Hicks Jr.
- The Savitz Organization
3.
Jay K. Egelberg
- First Actuarial Consulting, Inc.
Professionalism - Managing Your Role – Inadvertent Additional Responsibility Avoidance
02/15/2012 - 12:30 – 1:45 PM ET
Credits:
EA Core 1.50 CPD 1.50
Are you at risk of over-committing? What can you do about it? Engagement letters and a well-defined scope of services can improve time and resource management. There are also professional issues for the practicing actuary to take into account, including proper professional qualifications and managing conflicts of interest. The presenters at this session explore the issues that practicing actuaries face when managing client expectations and adhering to professional standards when taking on additional roles and responsibilities.
Speakers:
1.
David T. Kausch
- Gabriel Roeder Smith & Company
2.
Carol R. Sears
- Actuarial Consulting Group Inc.
3.
Adam J. Reese
- PRM Consulting Group
4.
Paul B. Zeisler
- Buck Consultants
Plan Terminations 1 – Group Annuities 101 for Pension Actuaries
02/22/2012 - 12:30 – 1:45 PM ET
Credits:
EA Noncore 1.50 CPD 1.50
What is the capacity of the group annuity market and how might it change in coming years? How does market capacity affect pricing? How are group annuity contracts priced, anyway? What constraints does the size of the corporate bond market impose? Unveil the mysteries of group annuity underwriting and pricing so you can advise plan sponsors how to manage the financial and other key regulatory aspects of purchasing group annuities as a settlement option.
At the conclusion of this session, attendees should be able to:
- Identify the influences and constraints on the group annuity market’s capacity;
- Explain how insurance companies price group annuity contracts; and
- Advise plan sponsors how to manage the financial aspects of purchasing group annuities.
Speakers:
1.
Ellen L. Kleinstuber
- The Savitz Organization
2.
Edward M. Root
- MetLife
3.
Steve Shepherd
- Hewitt EnnisKnupp
Plan Terminations 2 – Funding and Investment Strategy
03/21/2012 - 12:30 – 1:45 PM ET
Credits:
EA Noncore 1.50 CPD 1.50
Plan sponsors thinking about terminating their pension plans should be planning several years ahead to manage the financial consequences most effectively. They need to understand the total cost of settling the benefit obligation and how to avoid stranding assets or last minute cost surprises by managing investment risk. Learn how funding and investment strategies become intertwined as a plan nears termination and why one cannot be designed effectively without the other.
At the conclusion of this session, attendees should be able to:
- Explain the need for integrating funding and investment strategies when facing plan termination;
- Describe appropriate funding strategies for the pension plan endgame; and
- Advise plan sponsors on considerations for funding and investment strategies when considering plan termination.
Speakers:
1.
Daniel P. Cassidy
- P-Solve Cassidy
2.
Ryan McGlothlin
- P-Solve Cassidy
3.
Sean McShea
- Ryan Labs Inc.
Plan Terminations 3 – Getting It Done
04/11/2012 - 12:30 – 1:45 PM ET
Credits:
EA Core 1.50 CPD 1.50
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.
At the conclusion of this session, attendees should be able to:
- Describe the administrative steps and timelines involved in a plan termination;
- Understand how to make the process smooth and manageable; and
- Shepherd plan sponsors through the plan termination process.
Speakers:
1.
Ellen L. Kleinstuber
- The Savitz Organization
2.
Charles D. Cahill
- P-Solve Cassidy
3.
Lars C. Golumbic
- Groom Law Group
GASB - Notes on the Lull Before the Storm
05/09/2012 - 12:30 – 1:45 PM ET
Credits:
EA Noncore 1.50 CPD 1.50
The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) issued its exposure drafts (ED) on public pension accounting last year. 679 comment letters were received on the ED, including several by CCA and Academy members, plus one from the CCA Public Plans Community Steering Committee and one from the Academy's Public Plans Subcommittee. GASB continues to diligently deliberate the issues, and this panel has been monitoring the deliberation closely. We'll update you on what the standard is likely to require when it's released this summer. We will discuss what elements of the ED have been retained (most of it), what's changed (some welcome relief on measurement and effective dates as well as other implementation issues), and what remains uncertain (disclosure and other nuances). Tune in for the full, up-to-the-minute story.
Speakers:
1.
William B. Fornia
- Pension Trustee Advisors
2.
James J. Rizzo
- Gabriel Roeder Smith & Company
3.
Paul Angelo
- The Segal Company
Professionalism - Tactical Ideas Around Client Communication (ASOP 41 in Practice)
06/13/2012 - 12:30 – 1:45 PM ET
Credits:
EA Core 1.50 CPD 1.50
We all issue actuarial reports, but we also issue actuarial communications in many other forms. Do we all know what should - and shouldn't - be in them? When the auditor comes calling, what is he looking for? Speakers address the professionalism standards as they relate to actuarial reports, AFTAP certifications, forecasts and more, along with many of the common pitfalls an actuary should avoid when issuing an actuarial communication.
Speakers:
1.
Thomas A. Swain
- Bryan Pendleton Swats & McAllister LLC
2.
Thomas J. Finnegan
- The Savitz Organization
Managing Risks in Defined Contribution Plans
07/11/2012 - 12:30 – 1:45 PM ET
Credits:
EA Noncore 1.50 CPD 1.50
Retirement risk strategies have recently focused on defined benefit plans. However, there are also risks within defined contribution plans that could be addressed by actuaries. Speakers at this session explore the risks inherent in defined contribution plans and how these risks can be mitigated.
Speakers:
1.
James L. Jones
- Deloitte Consulting LLP
2.
Scott Parker
- Deloitte Consulting LLP
3.
Pamela D. Everhart
- Fidelity Investments
4.
Steven Manthie
- Deloitte Consulting LLP
Funding Stabilization Update: Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21)
09/06/2012 - 12:30 – 1:45 PM ET
Credits:
EA Core 1.50 CPD 1.50
The Conference of Consulting Actuaries and the Society of Actuaries' Pension Section are hosting a special web/audiocast on September 6, 2012 to educate actuaries on the key pension-related provisions of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21). MAP-21, enacted in July 2012, put into place changes to the single-employer funding and benefits restriction requirements and increases in PBGC premiums for both single-employer and multiemployer plans.
Plan sponsors and pension actuaries have been anxiously awaiting regulatory guidance from Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service to enable plans to take advantage of the temporary reductions in contribution levels and improved funded status that the MAP-21 interest rate stabilization provisions can potentially provide for 2012 and later plan years. In the meantime, it is imperative that actuaries understand the MAP-21 changes to the determination of interest rates used to determine funding target liabilities and how those changes might affect contribution requirements and benefit restrictions. Join our panel of experts who share their understanding of the funding, benefit restriction and PBGC premium changes enacted by MAP-21 and the issues that the profession is hoping to see addressed in regulatory guidance.
If regulatory guidance has been issued prior to the web/audiocast, we expect to have IRS participation for this session and the focus will shift to the guidance provided and its implications as well as any remaining unanswered questions.
Speakers:
1.
Ellen L. Kleinstuber
- The Savitz Organization
2.
Bruce Cadenhead
- Mercer
3.
Eric A. Keener
- Aon Hewitt
Healthcare Reform for Healthcare Actuaries
09/12/2012 - 12:30 – 1:45 PM ET
Credits:
CPD 1.50
Healthcare reform continues to evolve and has far reaching effects on employee benefits. Please join us for an update by experts Mac McCarthy and Chip Kerby as they cover what is new and what it means for you and your clients. Learn about the latest developments in legislative and regulatory activity and the possible consequences of the November elections.
Speakers:
1.
L. J. Mac McCarthy
- McCarthy Actuarial Consulting
2.
Chip Kerby
- Liberté Group LLC
3.
Adam J. Reese
- PRM Consulting Group
Professionalism - Managing Litigation Risk (Documentation and Management)
11/14/2012 - 12:30 – 1:45 PM ET
Credits:
EA Core 1.50 CPD 1.50
Mistakes happen, but how an Actuary maintains their files and how they manage their mistakes once they are identified is critical in managing litigation risk. This audiocast includes a discussion by an ERISA attorney and Actuary. Discussion topics also include documenting your work, records to maintain in your files, steps to take when a mistake is made, how to communicate mistakes and facilitate their correction. Real-life situations are discussed as examples.
Speakers:
1.
Scott D. Miller
- Actuarial Consulting Group Inc.
2.
Christopher J. Murphy Esq.
Social Programs Forecast Under the 113th Congress (A Post-Election Outlook)
12/12/2012 - 12:30 – 1:45 PM ET
Credits:
EA Noncore 1.50 CPD 1.50
After the conventions, confetti, and fireworks (both the verbal and the sparkly kinds), the 113th Congress faces the challenging realities unique to our times. A panel discussion by noted experts addresses issues that affect actuaries, from the post-election perspective, for our nation’s preeminent social programs – Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid –likely to be caught in the cross-hairs between economic fears and our better nature.
Speakers:
1.
Thomas S. Terry
- TTerry Consulting LLC
2.
Stephen C. Goss
- Social Security Administration
3.
Dr. Marilyn Moon
- American Institutes for Research
4.
Dale H. Yamamoto
- Red Quill Consulting
