President’s Message MARY FRANCES MILLER
The System Works
IT WAS A bRuTALLY ho T DAY ThIS PAST JuLY 11 when more than 60 Academy leaders gathered in Washington for our annual Summer Summit. It wasn’t just the weather that was unbearably hot. It was also the heated rhetoric that today characterizes much of what passes for political debate and informed com- mentary in our nation’s capital. Despite all the political heat, however, the Academy continues to offer the profession’s voice on an ever broadening list of issues
on which actuarial principles and actuarial analysis can bring all
sides to a clearer understanding of both problems and solutions.
It’s also noteworthy that the Academy papers being cit-
ed are the work of hundreds of volunteers: actuaries who
work across the country, at employers large and small, private
and public, in a variety of settings and industries, as well as
retirees who give selflessly of their own time. The Academy’s
reliance on such a large corps of dedicated volunteers, support-
ed by a small but agile professional staff, ensures that we meet
our self-imposed tests for objective, unbiased, reliable infor-
mation and analysis. The detailed processes that govern how
we develop and review our public policy work further support
that objective. Each Academy work product not only repre-
sents the views of the principal authors but also has passed
rigorous peer-review tests within and beyond the responsible
committee. In addition, the Academy’s conflict of interest pol-
icy serves as a strict governor against any volunteers putting
their employers’ interests first in the development of public
policy work products.
As the first point in the Academy Mission Statement
reads: “As the public voice for the United States actuarial
profession, the Academy provides independent and objective
actuarial information, analysis, and education for the forma-
tion of sound public policy.”
During the 18-month-long debate over what came to be
known as the Affordable Care Act, for example, advocates all
along the political spectrum, from the far right to the far left,
cited Academy work products—repeatedly—to make their
case for or against specific health care reform proposals. That
speaks, I believe, not just to the intensity of political debate and
never-ending political positioning but also to how well the
Academy performs its nonpartisan, objective work. I con-
sider it a badge of honor when we can name partisans on all
sides of the debate who cite Academy issue briefs, mono-
graphs, and comment letters to buttress their own positions.
So when you see a Democrat holding up an Academy
paper one week and then hear a Republican quoting from
the same paper the next week, don’t despair. It means the
system is working.
Partisans, of course, aren’t pointing to Academy opinions and rhetoric to make their cases. They’re using our
actuarial analyses and our examination of the financial
and other impacts of various policy proposals to help them
frame the debate on issues ranging from health care to
lifetime income, from Social Security to financial reform,
from managing catastrophic risk to pension reform.
As this is my last president’s column for
Contingencies, I would like to take the opportunity to thank you for
allowing me to share my reflections both on the profession and on the efforts of the more than 1,000 actuaries
who make a difference through their volunteer work
with the Academy. Volunteering has been an important
part of my professional life for more than 20 years, as it
will be for many years to come. Helping to shape sound
policy is just one of many great opportunities available
to us as members of the Academy.
4x6, MAGDALENA DuCzKo WSKI / ISToCK
