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Objectivity matters. Today, more than ever. With no agenda, other than getting it right, Milliman’s Critical Point podcast takes a deep dive into subject matter that affects the health and well-being of people across the globe, from healthcare to retirement security, flood insurance to autonomous vehicles. Through a team of professionals ranging from actuaries to clinicians, technology specialists to economists, Critical Point examines the inherent challenges – and innovative solutions – that Milliman consultants encounter through their daily work around healthcare, employee benefits, risk management, technology, investment consulting, insurance, and financial services.
53 Episodes
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For decades, companies with traditional pensions have been freezing those plans and replacing them with defined contribution options to help their employees save for retirement. But IBM made headlines when it restored its defined benefit program in early 2024. Three Milliman pension actuaries discuss this choice, new hybrid DB plan designs, and how plan sponsors can avoid the mistakes that led them to close their pension plans in the first place.You can read the episode transcript on our website.
Actuaries are vital to the insurance industry and national economies, but the profession is still emerging in many developing countries. That’s why Milliman and the United Nations Development Programme have launched a program to increase actuarial capacity around the world. In this episode, five Milliman volunteers reflect on the initiative’s first year and their work in 10 countries, from Nigeria to Nepal.You can read the episode transcript on our website.
In our second Critical Point episode about AI applications in insurance, we drill down into the topic of machine learning and particularly its evolving uses in healthcare. Milliman Principal and Consulting Actuary Robert Eaton leads a conversation with fellow data science leaders about the models they use, the challenges of data accessibility and quality, and working with regulators to ensure fairness. They also pick sides in the great debate of Team Stochastic Parrot versus Team Sparks AGI. You can read the episode transcript on our website.
Artificial intelligence has been the buzz term of 2023, evolving at a pace unimaginable when Milliman launched this podcast five years ago. For this 50th episode of Critical Point, we gathered a group of our AI experts to discuss how the technology is poised to reshape the insurance value chain, from hiring practices and actuarial modeling to customer service and communication.You can read the episode transcript on our website.
Insurers are feeling the heat as another record-breaking summer finally cools off. In this episode of Critical Point, Milliman leaders Rich Moyer, Garrett Bradford, and Andi Shah—who have studied the impact of extreme heat from the Middle East to Europe to North Carolina—discussed the ramifications on property, workers’ compensation, health, and other types of insurance. They also talk about data, including available sources for measuring heat risk now, and the data they would like to see to help measure the future effects of a warming planet. You can read the episode transcript on our website.
After 2022’s rollercoaster of soaring interest rates and plunging investment returns, sponsors of single-employer defined benefit plans face a key choice as they calculate the 2023 variable rate premium they’ll pay to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). Milliman pension actuaries Casey Baldwin and Ryan Cook spoke with Nina Lantz about using the full yield curve, not being afraid of the five-year lock-in, and how switching from the alternative calculation method to the standard method can mean the difference between a $100,000 premium and a premium of $1.7 million.You can read the episode transcript on our website.
As companies embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) efforts, many are realizing their benefit policies and communications can help address health inequities and be more inclusive. From modernizing the language in plan documents, to simplifying fertility care for same-sex couples, to not showing a skinny marathoner in the ads for your fitness challenge, Milliman’s Chief DE&I Officer joined health benefits experts to discuss how plan sponsors can help make sure all beneficiaries get the care they need.You can read the episode transcript on our website.
In this companion episode to our look at SECURE 2.0 and defined contribution (DC) plans, Milliman employee benefits expert Nina Lantz explores how the new retirement law affects single-employer pensions. She talks with Milliman Consulting Actuary William Strange about what it means for retirement that life expectancy is rising more slowly, how companies can incentivize long-term employees, and why a reduction in insurance premiums could make corporate pension plan sponsorship appealing again. You can read the episode transcript on our website .
When the SECURE 2.0 Act passed in late 2022, it introduced 92 provisions affecting retirement plans—and created a long to-do list for plan professionals. In this episode of Critical Point, Milliman employee benefits expert Nina Lantz talks with Brandy Cross, our director of defined contribution (DC) plan compliance, about how DC plans are coping. Learn which provisions plan sponsors are addressing first, and why it’s OK to wait before making plan changes. Plus, don’t miss Nina’s companion episode on SECURE 2.0’s impact on defined benefit plans.You can read the episode transcript on our website .
More than three years after the coronavirus shut down the world, the Biden administration announced in early 2023 the end of the U.S. National Emergency and the Public Health Emergency, two declarations that had mandated health insurance coverage of COVID-19 tests and vaccines, among other requirements. As these regulations are now rolled back, what does that mean for employer-sponsored health plans? In this episode of Critical Point, Milliman health experts discuss the implications, from whether to continue paying for at-home COVID-19 tests and when to phase out standalone telehealth benefits, to how to communicate any changes with plan members at this significant moment in the pandemic. You can read the episode transcript on our website.
As climate change causes more storms and floods, residents of coastal areas are being forced to move inland—driving up rents and displacing current residents of those regions. Milliman recently studied this issue in a paper called “Climate Displacement in New York City: Making Space for Our Neighbors,” published with Rebuild by Design, a nonprofit that helps communities build resilience. On this episode of Critical Point, two of the study authors discuss the groups most at risk, designing Manhattan to be more like Hong Kong, and how 40% of New Yorkers may be displaced without proactive city planning. You can read the episode transcript on our website.
Hear from Milliman’s first female principal, Peggy Pearson, about her path from homemaker (and home economics major) to actuarial leader, all while breaking through the cultural barriers of the time. In honor of Milliman’s 75th anniversary, Peggy sits down with current Milliman principals Angela Bolduc and Kim Guerriero to discuss how she “got into actuarial work on a dare,” her experience as a female leader in a primarily male-dominated field, and what has changed – and still needs to change – for women in the workplace.You can read the episode transcript on our website.
Church retirement plan sponsors face unique considerations. While helping to position their clergy and other plan members for a secure future, they also must stay competitive across the wider benefits landscape to recruit and retain lay employees. For a look at how one diocese manages these pressures, Milliman actuaries Jake Pringle and Delbert Zamora sat down with Gary Patton, HR director for the Diocese of Fort Worth, Texas.You can read the episode transcript on our website.
Insurtech never stops evolving. In this episode of Critical Point, Milliman actuaries Sheri Scott and Robert Eaton discuss recent trends they’ve seen and opportunities on the horizon--everything from new motion data and technology for improving the customer experience, to coverage for emerging risks including autonomous trucks, cryptocurrency, and even space travel.You can read the episode transcript on our website.
The VM-20 requirement is no longer hypothetical—it’s here, and it’s had a big impact on principle-based reserving for the life insurance industry. In this episode of Critical Point, we hear how experts are coping. Michael McCarty from Legal & General America shares the direct carrier’s side, while Laiping Wong-Stewart from RGA brings the reinsurer’s perspective. They are joined by Milliman actuaries Uri Sobel and Paul Fedchak in a conversation about the challenges and successes surrounding assumption setting, governance processes, and other changes created with the new regulation.You can read the episode transcript on our website.
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 distributions (RMDs), catchup contributions, and what this means for companies with non-full-time employees.You can read the episode transcript on our website.
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 will share firsthand experiences around the regulatory review of PBR valuations within their respective companies.You can read the episode transcript on our website.
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 change.You can read the episode transcript on our website.
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 product design disruption, Christin gives a high-level overview on emerging approaches to supplemental products. Stay tuned for future episodes in this series, which will take a deeper dive into product design. You can read the episode transcript on our website.
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 pension risk transfer via an annuity buyout creates the potential to leave money on the table. This episode dives into the differences between pension risk mitigation and transfer, and some of the benefits of plan hibernation over annuity buyouts.You can read the episode transcript on our website.
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