Critical Point

Learn how SECURE 2.0 could derail or reduce participant contributions, and what plan sponsors and HR professionals need to know about this potential regulation. In this episode of Critical Point, Milliman’s Jason Brantley sits down with Charles Clark and Karina Guerrero to talk about surprises in SECURE 2.0 and some of the details below the headlines. They’ll discuss the impact to required minimum...

Hear real-life experiences and get an “inside the company” look at the regulatory examination of principles-based reserve valuations for life insurers. PBR is a new method of determining U.S. statutory reserves in life insurance that better quantifies product risks. Milliman’s Karen Rudolph sits down with Catherine Murphy from John Hancock and Sarah Theis from WoodmenLife, qualified actuaries who...

In this one-on-one conversation with Vicky Nevin, Microsoft’s head of international compensation and benefits, learn how a leading multinational organization is approaching its compensation and benefits strategy and overcoming global challenges. Vicky speaks with Milliman / MBWL global EB leader John-Paul Augeri to share perspectives and priorities for benefits leaders during this time of global c...

Learn about five trends and creative approaches heading into 2022 for supplemental health benefits. Strategy consultant Christin Kuretich fuses Milliman market intel with a broader lens on society and the shifting nature of the workplace, to make some educated predictions on what we will see change and evolve in the voluntary benefits market. From mental health benefits to pet insurance and produc...

For corporate financial officers who are considering a pension annuity buyout, there’s an opportunity cost to 100% risk transfer, as Milliman’s Zorast Wadia and Bret Linton discuss on this episode of Critical Point. With the passage of the COVID-19 stimulus, many CFOs and plan sponsors likely see the second half of 2021 as an opportune time to de-risk their company’s pension liabilities; but pensi...

In fall 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the looming flu season, public health experts feared the possibility of a “twindemic”—a one-two punch of Coronavirus plus influenza. But that year, flu cases hit historic lows. The so-called twindemic never happened. Milliman health care expert Ellyn Russo discusses why the volume of flu cases decreased, and what health care systems can learn from thi...

In late July, the IRS provided additional guidance on changes to single-employer defined benefit pension plan cash contribution rules under the American Rescue Plan. In this episode of Critical Point, Milliman pension consultants Charlie Clark and Casey Baldwin break down the guidance and what it means for pension plans and their plan sponsors. Baldwin and Clark discuss the implications for intere...

When it comes to long-term care, what are some of the benefits and challenges of aging-in-place services, and how can these work hand-in-hand with long term care insurance? In this episode of Critical Point, Milliman’s Robert Eaton and Missy Gordon are joined by Char Hu, founder and CEO of The Helper Bees, a healthcare insurtech company that offers care concierge services for LTCI carriers and hea...

Milliman pension experts Charlie Clark, Vanessa Vaag, and Grant Camp discuss how the American Rescue Plan Act may impact single and multiemployer pension plans, and why pension funding has been integrated into the bill. The conversation ranges from the $86 billion special financial assistance for multiemployer plans, good faith compliance, and what plan sponsors should to consider when taking pote...

Flooding stands out among other natural catastrophes because of the risk it poses to the financial health of the average U.S. homeowner. In this episode, Milliman flood risk experts Dave Evans and Cody Webb are joined by Andrew Netter from Milliman’s mortgage group and Brand Katz from KatRisk to discuss the relationship between flood insurance and mortgage risk, and how that risk can impact financ...

The COVID-19 pandemic has spurred—and aggravated—a range of mental health and substance use issues in the United States. In this episode, Milliman’s Stoddard Davenport talks with host Lesley Pink about how different populations are faring on the mental health front, how the rising demand for mental health services is being met, and how recent statistics reveal the depth of the problem in this coun...

COVID-19 has dramatically increased the use of telehealth services across the U.S. In this episode, Milliman’s Susan Philip sits down with Mei Kwong, executive director of the Center for Connected Health Policy, to discuss some of the biggest changes to telehealth in 2020, including regulatory changes around reimbursement and access, provider usage, and ways in which the service has been an integr...

COVID-19 has had far-reaching economic implications, but what does the pandemic mean for the U.S. mortgage market? On this episode of Critical Point, Milliman’s Mike Schmitz from the firm’s mortgage practice, and Chris Harner from Milliman’s Cyber Risk Solutions group, discuss the impact of the pandemic on mortgage defaults and the credit risk market. While unemployment spiked and remains high, Sc...

Artificial intelligence (AI) along with low-dose CT scans hold promise for the early detection of lung cancer, but there are challenges that come with scaling up this new technology. In this episode of Critical Point, Milliman’s Bruce Pyenson is joined by Jim Mulshine, a thoracic medical oncologist who spent 25 years at the National Cancer Institute and is now with Rush Medical Center. He outlines...

The CARES Act – which stands for the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act – has sweeping implications for both defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC) retirement plans in the U.S. From distribution and loan relief for qualified individuals on the DC side, to deferral and election options for single-employer plans on the DB side, the CARES Act is intended to provide fast an...

Black lung disease presents a significant, long-term liability exposure for coal companies, risk pools, and governments – a liability complicated by climate change and its effects on the industry.  After the number of reported cases declined in the late 1990s, a recent CDC report indicates that trend has reversed and that cases of black lung in miners are the highest they've been since record...

At the heart of effective risk management is the ability to manage tail events, and the COVID-19 pandemic is raising some quite profound questions for risk practitioners in the life insurance industry. On this episode of Critical Point, Milliman consultants Anthony Dardis, Ariel Weiss, and Chloe Lau discuss enterprise risk management and emerging issues that life insurers may need to confront in t...

The COVID-19 pandemic will have far-reaching implications for both short- and long-term healthcare costs in the U.S., as Milliman consultants Pamela Pelizzari, Stoddard Davenport, Doug Norris, and Matt Kramer discuss on this episode of Critical Point. For the past month, Milliman consultants have been building actuarial models to better understand what costs could look like for consumers, hospital...

Managing cyber risk in emerging markets such as South Africa comes with its own unique challenges and opportunities, as Milliman’s David Kirk and Chris Harner discuss in this episode of Critical Point. Insurers and companies are confronting varying levels of preparedness, with outstanding questions around how to best understand, measure, and quantify the cost of cyber risk and then communicate the...

Every country has its own, unique healthcare system, but within these disparate systems there are shared approaches that cross borders and languages. This next episode of Critical Point, which is based on a series of papers by Milliman experts around the world, explores some of those commonalities and shared approaches that we see in healthcare systems globally, and tackles topics such as populati...

New trends in dental care and insurance coverage are aimed at improving the patient experience, as Milliman’s Joanne Fontana discusses on this episode of Critical Point. According to the American Dental Association, one-third of adults in the U.S. lack dental insurance, but emerging technologies such as ‘smart’ toothbrushes, teledentistry, and dental therapists are introducing new methods of care,...

What if, in the future, homeowners had a flood risk score, like a credit score? In this episode of Critical Point, Milliman consulting actuaries Nancy Watkins and John Rollins discuss flood risk, and what flood insurance could look like in the future. They address some of the public misconceptions about flood insurance coverage, the rise of the private market, and what this market could look like...

The American pension plan is in flux, but not for the first time in U.S. history. In this episode of Critical Point, Milliman consulting actuaries Kelly Coffing and Becky Sielman discuss why it’s a turbulent time for retirement security in America, and what the next generation of pension plans could – and should – look like given emerging technology and the changing nature of the U.S. workforce. Y...

Insurance companies that issue long-duration contracts (LDTI) can expect volatility, increased data and disclosure requirements, and the potential for a new market for reinsurers thanks to recent accounting changes, according to Milliman’s William Hines and Francois Dauphin. In the latest episode of Critical Point, Milliman’s life insurance actuaries discuss key takeaways from the Financial Accoun...

Global events like climate change, immigration, and the opioid epidemic have the potential to affect mortality rates, that is, the rate at which people die. Mortality rates drive many factors that affect our everyday living, like pensions, healthcare, and taxes, as Milliman principal and consulting actuary Dale Hagstrom discusses in the latest episode of our Critical Point podcast. You can read th...