News from Milliman

• Milliman PlanAhead™ Suite of Participant Services includes next generation retirement planning tool

  12 December 2012

  Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today announced the rollout of PlanAhead™, unique tools and targeted services to take employee retirement planning to the next level. Included in the suite of services is PlanAhead for Retirement®, a powerful participant web application that serves as a single destination for all of a participant’s retirement planning and investing activities. This tool allows participants to understand their retirement preparedness at a glance, providing insight that is very individualized and specific.

• Milliman sponsors an ILC-UK and Actuarial Profession joint debate on the ‘cost of our ageing society’

  10 December 2012

  London—Milliman Inc., one of the premier global consulting and actuarial firms, and the ILC-UK (International Longevity Centre-UK) recently organized a debate in conjunction with the Actuarial Profession on the cost of ageing and its impact on society.

• Milliman analysis: $33 billion pension funded status improvement in November

  06 December 2012

  Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the results of its latest Pension Funding Index, which consists of 100 of the nation’s largest corporate defined benefit pension plans. In November, these pensions experienced a $33 billion increase in funded status based on a $28 billion decrease in the pension benefit obligation (PBO) and a $5 billion increase in assets. The $33 billion increase begins to chip away at near-record funded status deficits that have persisted throughout the last two quarters. The deficit at the end of November sat at $466 billion.

• Milliman announces joint marketing effort with We Predict

  15 November 2012

  Seattle—Milliman, a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, announced today that it has developed a marketing alliance with We Predict to bring advanced analytics capabilities to clients of both firms.

• Milliman analysis: October’s $45 billion funded status decline pushes pension deficit to $498 billion

  07 November 2012

  Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm,today released the results of its latest Pension Funding Index, which consists of 100 of the nation’s largest defined benefit pension plans. In October, these pensions experienced a $45 billion decrease in funded status based on a $43 billion increase in the pension benefit obligation (PBO) and a $2 billion decrease in assets. The $45 billion decrease wipes out September’s improvement in funded status and contributes to a larger trend: During five of the last seven months, these 100 pensions have seen an interest-rate-driven increase in the funded status deficit, increasing the funded status gap by a cumulative $270 billion.

• Milliman launches Public Pension Funding Study, provides objective analysis of funded status for 100 largest public plans

  15 October 2012

  Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released its first Public Pension Funding Study, which consists of 100 of the nation’s largest public defined benefit pension plans. The study offers an aggregate analysis of these 100 public pensions and their funded status. The study complements Milliman’s corporate Pension Funding Study, which is now in its 12th year.

• Strong global demand drives European expansion by Milliman and EagleEye Analytics

  20 September 2012

  Seattle, Wash. and Columbia, S.C.—Driven by the momentum of their joint work for large global insurers, including Aviva plc, Milliman, Inc., one of the premier global consulting and actuarial firms, and EagleEye Analytics, Inc., the leading provider of predictive analytics solutions for the property and casualty industry, have announced the expansion of their alliance to include all markets throughout Europe.

• Milliman analysis: Rising rates reduce pension deficit by $34 billion

  10 September 2012

  Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the results of its latest Pension Funding Index, which consists of 100 of the nation’s largest defined benefit pension plans. In August, these pensions experienced a $34 billion increase in funded status based on a $23 billion reduction in the pension benefit obligation (PBO) and an $11 billion asset improvement. The $34 billion increase in funded status follows four straight months of interest-rate driven deficit increases and leaves the pension funding deficit at $498 billion.

• Stephen A. White Elected President and Chief Executive Officer of Milliman

  07 September 2012

  Seattle—Milliman, one of the premier global consulting and actuarial firms, today announced the election of Stephen A. White as president and chief executive officer. The appointment is effective immediately. Milliman’s board of directors made the announcement, acting to confirm the results of a vote by the privately held firm’s principals.

• Re-pricing by Universal Life Insurers remains active as revealed in annual Milliman survey

  21 August 2012

  Seattle—Fourteen of 31 respondents to Milliman’s fifth annual comprehensive study of Universal Life (UL) and Indexed Universal Life (IUL) issues reported they re-priced their UL with Secondary Guarantee design in the last 12 months.

• Milliman and Enclarity announce business alliance to enhance provider analytics and insight

  14 August 2012

  Seattle—Enclarity, Inc., a leading healthcare information solutions company, and Milliman, Inc., one of the premier global consulting and actuarial firms, today announced a formal business alliance between the two companies to jointly offer an integrated solution of Milliman’s MedInsight® software and services with Enclarity’s ProviderPoint® hosted provider data management solution to health plans, employers, and government entities throughout the U.S.

• Milliman analysis: July’s $120 billion decline in funded status pushes pension deficit to a record $533 billion

  06 August 2012

  Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the results of its latest Pension Funding Index, which consists of 100 of the nation’s largest defined benefit pension plans. In July, these pensions experienced a $120 billion decrease in funded status based on a $133 billion increase in the pension benefit obligation (PBO) and a $13 billion increase in asset value. The $120 billion decrease in funded status is the worst in the 12-year history of this study, and it pushes the pension deficit to a record $533 billion, surpassing the previous record set on August 31, 2010, The funded ratio of 70.9% is the second lowest in the history of this study; on May 31, 2003, the funded ratio bottomed out at 70.5%.

• Vega™: Software Solution from Milliman will calculate Standard Formula and help Insurers to meet Solvency II reporting requirements

  31 July 2012

  Paris—Milliman, one of the premier global consulting and actuarial firms, today announced the impending launch of Vega™, a comprehensive software solution to perform Standard Formula calculations and fulfil Solvency II reporting requirements.

• Milliman analysis: Corporate pensions see $186 billion deficit increase during 2nd quarter of 2012

  09 July 2012

  Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the results of its latest Pension Funding Index, which consists of 100 of the nation’s largest defined benefit pension plans. In June, these pensions experienced a $57 billion decrease in funded status based on a $77 billion increase in the pension benefit obligation (PBO) and a $20 billion increase in asset value. The $57 billion decrease in funded status pairs with the combined April and May decreases of $129 billion, increasing the funding deficit by $186 billion during the second quarter.

• Milliman identifies ten strategic considerations of the Supreme Court upholding PPACA

  29 June 2012

  Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released analysis of the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision upholding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). With the court effectively ruling the individual mandate and other elements of the law constitutional—with the notable and complex exception of certain aspects of Medicaid expansion—healthcare stakeholders can turn their attention to implementing healthcare reform.

• Milliman announces European Expansion

  13 June 2012

  Zurich—Milliman Inc., one of the premier global consulting and actuarial firms, continues the expansion of its continental European operations with the announcement that Tigran Kalberer will become regional head of the firm’s Life and Non-Life insurance consulting practices in Switzerland and Germany, effective September 1, 2012.

• Milliman launches MG-ALFA® in the cloud

  12 June 2012

  Seattle—Milliman, Inc., the international firm of consultants and actuaries, today announced that MG-ALFA is capable of utilizing Windows Azure for on-demand processing. This represents a major step forward and a valuable feature as insurers look to expand computing capacity while controlling costs.

• Milliman analysis: Corporate pension gains evaporate in May

  06 June 2012

  Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the results of its latest Pension Funding Index, which consists of 100 of the nation’s largest defined benefit pension plans. In May, these pensions experienced a $90 billion decrease in pension funded status based on a $60 billion increase in the pension benefit obligation (PBO) and a $30 billion decline in asset value. The $90 billion decrease in funded status pairs with last month’s $39 billion decrease, depriving these pensions of all year-to-date gains.

• Milliman announces solutions for State All Payer Claims Database

  22 May 2012

  Seattle—Milliman, Inc., one of the premier global consulting and actuarial firms, today announced the availability of its MedInsight technology and services solutions tailored for State All Payer Claims Database Programs. As states continue to implement these important healthcare initiatives, MedInsight solutions can be leveraged for successful roll-out and ongoing operations.

• Milliman: Healthcare costs for American family exceed $20,000 in 2012

  15 May 2012

  Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the results of its 2012 Milliman Medical Index (MMI), which measures the average healthcare costs for a typical American family of four receiving healthcare through an employer-sponsored preferred provider organization (PPO) plan. The average cost of care for this typical family in 2012 is $20,728. While the 6.9% increase over 2011 is the lowest rate of increase in the 12 years tracked by the MMI, the $1,335 increase surpasses last year’s record of $1,319.

• Milliman analysis: Corporate pension funded status declines for first time this year

  09 May 2012

  Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the results of its latest Pension Funding Index, which consists of 100 of the nation’s largest defined benefit pension plans. In April, these pensions experienced a $39 billion decrease in pension funded status based on a $35 billion increase in the pension benefit obligation (PBO) and a $4 billion decline in the asset value. April’s drop in funded status is the first of 2012 and comes following a strong improvement in March.

• Milliman analysis: Market rally and rising interest rates reduce corporate pension deficit in March

  05 April 2012

  Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the results of its latest Pension Funding Index, which consists of 100 of the nation’s largest defined benefit pension plans. In March, these pensions experienced a $58 billion improvement in pension funding thanks to a $4 billion improvement in asset value and a $54 billion reduction in the pension benefit obligation (PBO). These results reflect the annual update of the Milliman 100 companies and their actual 2011 financial disclosures included in the Milliman 2012 Pension Funding Study.

• Milliman analysis: Market rally and rising interest rates reduce corporate pension deficit in March

  03 April 2012

  New Delhi–Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released a new annual study examining the pension and gratuity market in India. The India Defined Benefit Funding Study examines the pension and gratuity obligations of the 26 public sector banks in India and reports on trends related to these obligations.

• Milliman analysis: Falling interest rates define 2011 for corporate pensions

  29 March 2012

  Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the results of its 2012 Pension Funding Study, which analyzes the 100 largest US corporate pensions. In 2011, these pensions were defined by record-low discount rates, which led to record-high pension liabilities and a $326.8 billion pension funding deficit—a $94.7 billion increase over year-end 2010 and a new record for the 12-year history of this study. The pension funding ratio stood at 79.2% at year’s end.

• Milliman analysis: Pension plans continue modest 2012 improvement

  06 March 2012

  Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the results of its latest Pension Funding Index, which consists of 100 of the nation’s largest defined benefit pension plans. In February, these pensions experienced a $20 billion improvement in pension funding thanks to a $24 billion improvement in asset value that offset a $4 billion increase in the pension benefit obligation (PBO). The asset-driven improvement continues the modest rally that has so far characterized 2012.

• Milliman analysis: Pension plans begin 2012 by narrowing a record deficit

  06 February 2012

  Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the results of its latest Pension Funding Index, which consists of 100 of the nation’s largest defined benefit pension plans. In January, these pensions experienced a $30 billion improvement in pension funding based entirely on asset performance, leaving the pension funding deficit at $434 billion. The strong month follows a lost year in which interest rates drove the pension funding deficit to historic levels.

• Milliman announces opening of an office in Belgium

  02 February 2012

  Seattle—Milliman Inc., a leading global consulting and actuarial firm, today announced the opening of a new office in Brussels, Belgium.

• Milliman announces formation of Risk Institute

  25 January 2012

  Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today announced the formation of the Milliman Risk Institute, which will provide scientific-based thought leadership to executive management on all facets of enterprise risk. The Milliman Risk Institute has an advisory board of eight senior risk managers and convened its first meeting on November 3, 2011; the Institute expects to publish its initial research in advance of the April 18-20, 2012 ERM Symposium in Washington DC.

• Milliman announces availability of Interstate Compact Survey

  06 January 2012

  Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today announced the availability of its Interstate Compact Survey, which examines insurance industry use of the Interstate Compact. The Interstate Compact allows companies to submit a single product for approval in up to 40 states (and Puerto Rico) and to expect approval in 60 days or less, thereby improving speed-to-market for new insurance products.

• Milliman analysis: Bad year for pensions ends badly

  06 January 2012

  Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the results of its latest Pension Funding Index, which consists of 100 of the nation’s largest defined benefit pension plans. In December, these pensions epitomized the poor performance of 2011, experiencing a $59.7 billion decrease in pension funded status. The bad month cemented a bad year, leaving these 100 pensions with a $236.4 billion increased deficit as corporate pensions faced record underfunding.