Horizon Actuarial Services, LLC has six consultants slated to speak at the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans’ (IFEBP) 61st Annual Conference in Honolulu in November. The conference is expected to draw over 5,000 attendees.

Cary Franklin will participate in three sessions for the Trustees Masters Program: “Using Fund Professionals Wisely,” ”Case Studies” and “Open Issues & Future Challenges.” Additionally, Cary will conduct a session at the main Annual Conference titled “Understanding the Actuary’s Math.” This session is intended to help Trustees and others gain insight into what their actuaries are saying.

Aruna Vohra will also speak at the Trustees Masters Program on “Retiree Health Care Exchanges.” At the main Annual Conference, Aruna will facilitate the “Health and Welfare Case Study” and answer questions on hot topics affecting the industry. In addition, she will be a co-speaker at the session “ACA—The Devil is in the Details.”

Stan Goldfarb will lead a workshop titled “Emerging Pension Issues,” covering a variety of topics, including participants working past normal retirement age, recovering overpayments, PBGC premiums, national pension efforts, frozen plans and bankruptcies and pensions.

Mary Ann Dunleavy will serve on a panel “Working Effectively with Your A-Team”, discussing how to best work with fund professionals, including participation at trustees’ meetings, managing priorities, understanding expectations and professional standards, reliance on counsel and efficient communications.

Jason Russell will present “Directions in Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution Plans,”  highlighting the research of the International Foundation and Horizon Actuarial Services regarding retirement plan trends. Jason will also appear at “Ask the Actuaries/Consultants,” giving participants an open forum to pose questions and share information.

A listing of the speakers and sessions can be downloaded via the link below.

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    Horizon Actuarial 2015 IFEBP Speaker List
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Additionally, Stephanie Patrick contributed a chapter to the IFEBP’s book “Self-Funding Health Benefit Plans” titled “The Role of the Actuary and Actuarial Considerations.” This timely book, edited by John C. Garner, provides a comprehensive look at how self-funded plans will be affected by the latest industry issues, including the Affordable Care Act. The book will be available for purchase at the conference’s bookstore.

We look forward to seeing you at the  IFEBP 61st Annual Conference.

On June 17, 2015, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) issued guidance on the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014 (MPRA), which was signed into law last December.

The IRS’s guidance comes in the form of a revenue procedure regarding the application and approval process for benefit suspensions under MPRA.  The IRS has posted the revenue procedure on its website.  The revenue procedure was issued in conjunction with temporary and proposed regulations providing guidance on benefit suspensions.

The PBGC’s guidance comes in the form of an interim final regulation on the partition rules under MPRA.  The PBGC has posted a press release regarding the regulation on its website, which includes a link to the regulation itself.  The regulation provides guidance on the process of applying for a partition, including information required from the plan sponsor as part of the application.

Horizon Actuarial would like to congratulate the following associates who recently earned the actuarial designations shown below:

Tony Ghabour: Enrolled Actuary (EA).
Johnny Hong: Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA).

Congratulations to Tony and Johnny on these great accomplishments!

Horizon Actuarial Services, LLC is pleased to announce that five of our consultants will be presenting at the 59th Annual Conference of the International Foundation of Employee Benefits Plans (IFEBP).  The Annual Conference will be held from Sunday, October 20 through Wednesday, October 23, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Prior to the Annual Conference is the Trustees Masters Program, which will be held on Saturday, October 19 and Sunday, October 20.

Trustees Masters Program
The Trustees Masters Program (TMP) is the pinnacle event for advanced level trustee networking and education. It is designed to build on trustees’ existing knowledge base and experience through peer exchange and group exercises over an intensive two days.  Cary Franklin and Aruna Vohra are leading sessions during the Trustees and Masters Program.

Cary Franklin

Using Fund Professionals Wisely
Potential Topics: • Formulate solid expectations of providers and professionals that serve funds • Create key data elements trustees should receive • Assemble key questions that should be posed to providers
Saturday, 10/19  |  9:45 am – 12:00 pm

Pension Case Study
Potential Topics: • Funding status and future projections • Why your demographics are important • Alternative arrangements • Strategies for critical plans • Importance of projections
Sunday, 10/20  |  10:15 am – 12:00 pm

Open Issues/Future Challenges
Discussion of issues and solutions raised in breakout sessions
Sunday, 10/20  |  1:30 pm – 3:30 pm

Aruna Vohra

Health & Welfare Case Studies
Potential Topics: • Affordable Care Act Impact • Cost curbing strategies • Understanding your demographics • What do you get from wellness strategies? • Do incentives work and how do you measure their effectiveness? • Lessons learned
Sunday, 10/20  |  10:15 am – 12:00 pm

Open Issues/Future Challenges
Discussion of issues and solutions raised in breakout sessions
Sunday, 10/20  |  1:30 pm – 3:30 pm

Annual Conference Sessions

Cary Franklin

P04: Looking Ahead – Pension Funding Forecasts
This session will share what pension valuation forecasts are, what they can and can’t do, and how funds can use them for strategic planning. • What are pension valuation forecasts? • What can be learned from forecasts? Topics: • How are they performed? • What is and is not required by the Pension Protection Act (PPA)? • How reliable are forecasts?
1  Monday, 10/21  | 10:45 am – 12:00 noon
2  Tuesday, 10/22  | 1:15 pm – 2:30 pm

Mary Ann Dunleavy

P14:  Retirement Planning for Workers of All Ages (Moderator)
Topics: • What should younger workers be thinking and doing now? • Whose responsibility is it to teach and share such information? • How much should workers save? • How to manage Lump Sums in Retirement • Can you count on Social Security? • Investment strategies for individuals • Effective communication methods • What can plan Sponsors do to educate members?
1  Tuesday, 10/22  |  10:30 am – 11:45 am
2  Wednesday, 10/23  |  9:00 am – 10:15 am

Stan Goldfarb

P15: What Happens to Pension Plans if Interest Rates Rise?
This session address considerations for trustees in a scenario that will occur sooner or later.Topics:  • How does the interest rate environment affect pension plans? • How would an environment with rising interest rates affect asset allocation? • Setting pension obligations • How does the impact vary for multiemployer, governmental and single-employer plans?
1  Monday, 10/21  |  3:00 pm – 4:15 pm
2  Tuesday, 10/22  |  1:15 pm – 2:30 pm

OF-1: Ask the Actuaries/Consultants
This open forum session provides the opportunity to ask questions and discuss hot topics with a panel of actuaries and consultants from around the country.
1  Tuesday, 10/22  | 7:30 am – 8:45 am

Jason Russell

P18:  A Survey of Multiemployer Retirement Plans
This session covers findings from the 2012 International Foundation/Horizon Multiemployer Retirement Plan study, providing a ten-year overview of trends among topics on, but not limited to: • Funding status • Investment returns and assumptions • Contributions and benefit costs • Benefit payments • Unfunded liabilities.
1  Tuesday, 10/22  |  7:30 am – 8:45 am
2  Tuesday, 10/22  |  2:45 pm – 4:00 pm

Aruna Vohra
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H06: Focused Workshops on the Affordable Care Act and Collective Bargaining
These workshops will provide 30 minutes of formal remarks followed by 30-45 minutes of facilitated discussion around the topic. The objective of these workshops is to lay the groundwork to enable a discussion with your peers.  Topics: • Data needs • unanswered questions and issues; • Eligibility • Grandfathering
1  Monday, 10/21  |  3:00 pm – 4:15 pm
2  Tuesday, 10/22  |  1:15 pm – 2:30 pm

H05: Evolving Plan Design(s)
Topics: • What’s driving change? • Cafeteria approach to health care in the multiemployer environment • smaller networks: are they viable? • Individual account plans (hours based or dollars based?)
1  Tuesday, 10/22  | 7:30 am – 8:45 am
2  Tuesday, 10/22  | 10:30 am – 11:45 am

On May 2, 2013, Bloomberg Government and the Quality Construction Alliance hosted a discussion on the state of private sector pension plans in the U.S., with a special focus on multiemployer defined benefit pension plans.

Speakers included:
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* Josh Gotbaum: Director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)
* Randy DeFrehn: Executive Director of the National Coordinating Committee for Multiemployer Plans (NCCMP)
* Cary Franklin: Actuary and Managing Consultant of Horizon Actuarial Services, LLC
* Earl Pomeroy: Former U.S. Representative and Attorney at Alston & Bird, LLP
* Norm Stein: Professor at Drexel Law School and Former Counsel to the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)

Mr. Gotbaum was the first speaker, discussing the importance of defined benefit plans and issues facing the PBGC.  Following Mr. Gotbaum was a panel discussion including Mr. DeFrehn, Mr. Franklin, Mr. Pomeroy, and Mr. Stein.  The panel’s discussion focused on issues facing multiemployer defined benefit pension plans and the NCCMP’s recent report – Solutions Not Bailouts – which offers a set of proposals to preserve the current multiemployer pension system, remediate the minority of deeply troubled plans, and offer innovative ideas for the future.

The video can be streamed from the C-SPAN website via the link below.

http://www.c-spanvideo.org/event/218127

Congratulations are due to three of our associate actuaries in our Washington, DC office, each of whom recently completed the educational requirements necessary to earn the designation of Associate of the Society of Actuaries (ASA).

Ben Ablin: New ASA as of February, 2013.
Justin Dominiczak: New ASA as of February, 2013.
Jeff Frizzell: New ASA as of October, 2012.
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Congratulations to Ben, Justin, and Jeff (with special belated congratulations to Jeff) for this great accomplishment!

It is with great sadness that we bid farewell to one of Horizon’s founding members, Brian Alan Dailey. Brian passed away on February 2, 2013 at the age of 45.

Before becoming an actuary, Brian ran his own home improvement business. Once he had his fill of manual labor, he went to college and decided to become an actuary.
Brian joined Watson Wyatt in Cleveland, OH, and he naturally gravitated toward working on the pensions of working class people — multiemployer plans. After a few years, Brian transferred to Watson Wyatt’s Washington, DC office to focus on multiemployer plan consulting.  Horizon Actuarial Services, LLC was spun off from Watson Wyatt and first started doing business five years ago, on February 1, 2008. We all were excited for this opportunity, perhaps Brian most of all.

Brian passed his actuarial exams very quickly, becoming a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, an Enrolled Actuary, a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries, and a Fellow of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries. Even though he had been an actuary for only about ten years, his knowledge and skills were equivalent to those of someone who had been in the business for twenty years or more.

Brian served on the Multiemployer Subcommittee of the American Academy of Actuaries. A special method he suggested to handle an unworkable provision in the Pension Protection Act of 2006 was adopted by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) and is now being used throughout the multiemployer plan community. Brian also actively assisted the National Coordinating Committee of Multiemployer Plans (NCCMP) on matters related to the Pension Relief Act of 2010.

To those of us at Horizon, Brian was a great friend, co-worker, and leader. We will miss his attention to detail, his innovative thinking, and his sense of humor.
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Brian is survived by his wife Heidi, his son Connor, and his daughter Dilana.

We are pleased to announce that four consultants from Horizon Actuarial will be presenting at the 58th Annual Conference of the International Foundation of Employee Benefits Plans (IFEBP).  The Annual Conference will be held from Sunday, November 11 through Wednesday, November 14, 2012 in San Diego.

Cary Franklin

Trustees Masters Program
“The Trustees Masters Program is the pinnacle event for advanced level trustee networking and education. It is designed to build on trustees’ existing knowledge base and experience through peer exchange and group exercises over an intensive two days.” Cary will be leading multiple sessions during the Program.

Annual Conference
Session P01: The Sunset of the Pension Protection Act: What Has PPA Achieved? (Co-Speaker)
The content for this session is designed to meet intermediate level audience needs. This session addresses specifically what sun-setting is and what else is needed. • Which sections are subject to the 2014 sunset? • Ideas for modifying the PPA and alternative structures • Are there any legislative or administrative initiatives emerging? • Likely scenarios if nothing changes
1 Monday, 2:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.
2 Tuesday, 10:00 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.

Session P10: Getting Green and Staying Green (Co-Speaker)
The content for this session is designed to meet advanced level audience needs. • Projecting your fund’s future trends • Assessing the benefits and liabilities • Exploring various scenarios • Aligning alternatives and options with possible scenarios • Does your asset allocation need to change? • Examples of some prudent approaches & policies • When to improve benefits; when to opt out
1 Monday, 10:15 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
2 Tuesday, 8:30 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.

Stan Goldfarb

Session F05: Monitoring Your Professionals (Panelist)
The content of this session is designed to meet intermediate level audience needs. • Delineating expectations for all professional services: i.e., administrative, investment, accounting, actuarial and legal • ERISA requirement(s) • DOL guidance and rules regarding fee disclosures to and by plan fiduciaries • Types of reporting and documentation • Frequency of review and evaluation • How to address service or contextual issues
1 Monday, 2:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.
2 Tuesday, 8:30 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.

Session OF1: Ask the Actuaries / Consultants (Panelist)
1 Tuesday, 7:00 a.m. – 8:15 a.m.

Session TMPG2: Developing an Action Plan for PPA (Speaker)
1 Tuesday, 10:00 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.

Jason Russell

Session P09: “Actuary Speak” for Trustees (Speaker)
The content for this session is designed to meet basic level audience needs. • Key actuarial components and what they mean • What are the most important parts of a valuation report? • Actuarial rules of thumb – sensitivity to changing assumptions • What does solvency mean? • How did pension funding relief impact my fund? • Handling credit/negative balances • What is stochastic modeling and how is it used? • Questions to ask your actuary; your board
1 Monday, 8:15 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
2 Monday, 2:30 a.m. – 3:45 p.m.

Aruna Vohra

​Trustees Masters Program 
“Health and Welfare Case Studies: Future Challenges”
Sunday, 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
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Session TMPG3: “Developing an Action Plan for the Affordable Care Act”
Tuesday, 10:00 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.

Lindey Loftin, an actuarial analyst in Horizon’s Washington, DC office, was featured in a recent story by National Public Radio’s (NPR’s) “All Things Considered.”  The story discussed employment (and unemployment) trends among the millenial generation, and it highlighted Lindey as a recent college graduate who chose to enter the actuarial profession.

Below is an excerpt from the story.  The entire piece can be read and listened to on the NPR website.

“Educated and Jobless: What’s Next for Millenials?”
All Things Considered (NPR)
November 12, 2011

The Occupy Wall Street protests in several cities around the country have turned a spotlight on the growing frustration among the millennial generation, a group that has suffered crushing student loan debt and high rates of unemployment.

Lindey Loftin is part of that generation, but the 27-year-old is not unemployed. In fact, she says she loves her job, is well paid and has no college loan debt. Her employer actually paid for a portion of her education.

As an actuarial analyst, Loftin works on data for pensions, and her story raises a lot of questions about the strategy of young, educated job-seekers. Very few students today choose a career the way Loftin did: with cold, calculated, cost-benefit analysis.

Loftin, who plays the cello, told weekends on All Things Considered guest host Jacki Lyden she originally considered going into music education or becoming a performance major.

“But I also knew that I was good in the math field, and I looked into the actuarial profession and saw that, well, that’s a lot better of a chance,” she says. “When I was researching the career as a student, it always ranked high up there: low stress, great pay and good rate of employment.”

According to research from Georgetown University, the actuary field ranks 150th in popularity among 173 fields studied. But, it also ranks No. 1 in employability.

Congratulations, Lindey, on a job well done representing the future of the actuarial profession!

We are pleased to announce that four consultants from Horizon Actuarial will be presenting at the 57th Annual Conference of the International Foundation of Employee Benefits Plans (IFEBP).  The Annual Conference will be held from Sunday, October 30 through Wednesday, November 2, 2011 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Cary Franklin

Trustees Masters Program“
The Trustees Masters Program is the pinnacle event for advanced level trustee networking and education. It is designed to build on trustees’ existing knowledge base and experience through peer exchange and group exercises over an intensive two days.” Cary will be leading the following sessions during the Program:

• Using Fund Professionals Wisely (Saturday 9:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.)
• Pension Breakout: Case Studies (Sunday 9:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.)
• Open Issues Forum (Sunday 1:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.)

Annual Conference
Session 314-1: Workshop – New FASB Rules and Their Impact (Panelist)
The content for this session is designed to meet intermediate level audience needs. Hear the latest disclosure requirements for participating employers of multiemployer plans. • What do they mean to administrators? • How will timeliness of information be handled? • What information will be disclosed, and what does it mean to creditors? • Explaining it to employers
1 Monday, 1:30 – 2:45 p.m.
2 Tuesday, 1:15 – 2:30 p.m.

Session 503: Can You Make Your Return Assumption? (Co-Speaker)
The content for this session is designed to meet advanced level audience needs. • Are return assumptions too optimistic now? • What comes first: your investment policy or your return assumption? • Why remain at or change a 7.5% return assumption? • What is the risk in attaining these goals? • How do you measure risk? • What risk is appropriate for a benefit fund?
2 Tuesday, 10:30 – 11:45 a.m.
Session P-ACCT2: Dealing with New Disclosures for Multiemployer Plans (Panelist)
(Joint Session With Accountants/Attorneys) • Accounting and auditing pronouncements • FASB update • Withdrawal liability disclosure • Timing and data
1 Tuesday, 7:30 – 8:45 a.m.

Stan Goldfarb

​Session 307: Workshop – Unwinding a Plan (Co-Speaker)
The content for this session is designed to meet advanced level audience needs. • Steps to ending a plan • Impact on participating employers; i.e., withdrawal liability or excise tax • Determining whether the plan is subject to partitioning • How to negotiate with PBGC • Mitigating potential lawsuits • Ongoing trustee responsibilities and obligations
1 Monday, 10:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
2 Tuesday, 9:00 – 10:45 a.m.

Jason Russell

Session 503: Can You Make Your Return Assumption? (Co-Speaker)
The content for this session is designed to meet advanced level audience needs. • Are return assumptions too optimistic now? • What comes first: your investment policy or your return assumption? • Why remain at or change a 7.5% return assumption? • What is the risk in attaining these goals? • How do you measure risk? • What risk is appropriate for a benefit fund?
1 Monday, 1:30 – 2:45 p.m.

Session 315: Correcting Funding Shortfalls (Speaker)
The content for this session is designed to meet advanced level audience needs. Whether you are green and potentially headed to yellow or are currently yellow, this session is for you. • Understand the difference between a rehab plan and a funding improvement plan. • Determine your contribution and benefit reduction strategies. • Track your plan’s progress or make modifications. • Explore the results of various approaches through modeling.
1 Monday, 3:00 – 4:15 p.m.
2 Tuesday, 7:30 – 8:45 a.m.

Aruna Vohra

Session 207: Plan Design and Administration Trends in a World Shaped by Health Care Reform (Panelist)
The content for this session is designed to meet basic level audience needs. Hear a panel discuss changes and approaches they have seen in the last year. • What is most prevalent? • What provisions and benefit levels are getting the most attention? • What changes to plan rules, eligibility and access are being made? • What is the status of grandfathering plans? • Learn from others on what they are considering.
1 Tuesday, 2:45 – 4:00 p.m.
2 Wednesday, 7:30 – 8:45 a.m.