Feb. 6, 2012
Milliman analysis: Pension plans begin 2012 by narrowing a record deficit
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.
Jan. 25, 2012
Milliman announces formation of Risk Institute
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.
Jan. 6, 2012
Milliman analysis: Bad year for pensions ends badly
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.
Jan. 6, 2012
Milliman announces availability of Interstate Compact Survey
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.
Dec. 7, 2011
Milliman analysis: Pension funding deficit grows in November
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 November, these plans experienced a $7 billion decline in market value and a $1 billion increase in pension liabilities. While declining assets drove the deficit growth, the 4.53% discount rate—the lowest in the 11-year history of this study—continues to be the big story.
Nov. 9, 2011
Milliman MedInsight anticipates health reform requirements, makes significant strides in 2011
Seattle—Milliman, Inc., one of the premier global consulting and actuarial firms, today announced that its MedInsight solution has been adopted by more than 30 new clients in 2011. MedInsight is now used by more than 75 healthcare payers, employers, government entities, third-party administrators and community health coalitions.
Nov. 4, 2011
Milliman analysis: Investment gains fuel pension funded status improvement
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 plans experienced a $44 billion investment gain and a $2 billion increase in pension liabilities. The $42 billion improvement in funded status comes in the wake of a $254 billion increase in the pension funding deficit in the third quarter of calendar year 2011, which was the second worst financial quarter on record. Only once in the history of this study has pension performance been worse; during the historic fourth quarter of calendar year 2008.
Oct. 6, 2011
Milliman analysis: Declining interest rates fuel record growth in pension funding deficit
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 September, these plans experienced a $31 billion investment loss and a $93 billion increase in pension liabilities. The massive increase in the pension funding deficit closes out a rough quarter for these pensions. Since June 30, the funded status deficit has grown by $252 billion, making the third quarter of calendar year 2011 the second worst in the history of this study. The only previous quarter in which pensions have performed so poorly was the fourth quarter of calendar year 2008, which spanned the financial crisis.
Sept. 29, 2011
New study finds pensions are preferred retirement plan
Washington, D.C.—A new study of the retirement plan choice in the public sector finds that defined benefit (DB) pensions are strongly preferred over 401(k)‐type defined contribution (DC) individual accounts. The study analyzes seven state retirement systems that offer a choice between DB and DC plans to find that the DB uptake rate ranges from 98 to 75 percent. The percentage of new employees choosing DC plans ranges from 2 to 25 percent for the plans studied.
Sept. 19, 2011
Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today announced the next phase in its strategic alliance with EagleEye Analytics, an insurance solutions company that provides predictive analytics to the insurance industry. The firms’ new solution focuses on providing property & casualty and life insurers with information that can fuel increased profitability.
Sept. 13, 2011
Milliman analysis: Corporate pension funded status drops for second consecutive month
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 plans experienced a $29 billion investment loss and a $33 billion increase in pension liabilities. The August increase in the pension funded deficit comes on the heels of an even larger increase in July. The combined $128 billion growth in the deficit between June 30 and August 31 is the largest two-month increase since a $134 billion increase in May and June of 2010.
Aug. 9, 2011
Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released results from its 2011 survey of the U.S. individual disability income (IDI) market. Fifteen insurance companies, representing 90%-95% of the traditional IDI new business issued today, were asked about the business issued between 2002 and 2010, the distribution of sales among key marketing segments, current underwriting requirements, product offerings, favorable and unfavorable trends, and opportunities and obstacles in the current IDI market. Milliman has published this annual survey since 2007.
Aug. 9, 2011
Milliman analysis: Corporate pensions experience largest funded status decline of the year
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 plans experienced a $6 billion investment loss and a $62 billion increase in pension liabilities. The resulting $68 billion increase in the pension funded status deficit is the largest decline so far in 2011.
July 20, 2011
Milliman launches first Global Family Takaful Report
Seattle—Milliman is proud to present the first ever Global Family Takaful Report, launched at the International Takaful Summit in London in July 2011. This is the first report of its kind, providing a unique in-depth analysis of family Takaful. The report focuses on the characteristics inherent within the family Takaful market.
July 14, 2011
Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today identified a series of considerations for states, health plans, and employers as they look toward the 2014 state exchange implementation deadline set forward in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and reiterated in regulations issued by Health & Human Services on July 11.
July 13, 2011
Seattle—Milliman has completed one of the largest and most comprehensive life insurance mortality and lapse studies ever undertaken. The study is called MIMSA (Milliman Industry Mortality Study and Analysis) and covers the United States individual life insurance business of 29 companies. MIMSA contains $27.8 trillion of exposure for mortality and 1.6 million deaths over study years 2000-2009. It also contains $26.8 trillion of exposure for lapse and 8.1 million lapses.
July 12, 2011
Milliman recognized as 2011 Microsoft technical and high-performance computing partner of the year
Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, has been named recipient of the 2011 Microsoft Technical and High Performance Computing Innovation Partner of the Year Award. The company was honored among a global field of top Microsoft partners for demonstrating excellence in innovation and implementation of customer solutions using Milliman's MG-ALFA® actuarial projection system and the Microsoft platform.
July 7, 2011
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 plans experienced a $10 billion investment loss but still saw an overall improvement in funded status due to a $35 billion liability reduction. This resulted in a $25 billion improvement in the funded status deficit, bringing it to $186 billion.
June 7, 2011
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 plans experienced flat asset performance and a $26 billion liability increase due to a drop in interest rates. This resulted in a $26 billion increase to the funded status deficit, bringing it to $210 billion.
May 11, 2011
Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the results of the 2011 Milliman Medical Index, which measures the total cost of healthcare for a typical family of four covered by a preferred provider organization (PPO). The 2011 MMI cost is $19,393, an increase of 7.3% over 2010, which is the lowest annual rate of increase in more than a decade. Yet even though the rate of increase is the lowest in recent memory, the increase in total dollars—$1,319 in 2011—is the highest in the history of this study.
May 10, 2011
Milliman analysis: Corporate pension funded status falls as interest rates drop in April
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 plans saw pension liabilities increase by $31 billion due to a drop in interest rates, overshadowing a $19 billion increase in assets. This resulted in a $12 billion increase to the funded status deficit, bringing it to $184 billion.
April 12, 2011
Milliman offers sophisticated risk adjustment software to state insurance exchanges free of charge
Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today announced that it will provide its risk adjustment software, Milliman Advanced Risk Adjusters (MARA), to states implementing a health insurance exchange.
April 11, 2011
Milliman analysis: Rising interest rates improve pension funding
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 plans experienced no asset growth but did see liabilities decrease by $16 billion based on an increase in the discount rate.
March 29, 2011
Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the results of its annual Pension Funding Study, which consists of 100 of the nation’s largest defined benefit pension plans. In 2011, these plans experienced asset returns of 12.8% (a $115 billion improvement) that were offset by a liability increase of 7.7% (a $103 billion increase) based on a decrease in the discount rate. The decline in discount rates fueled record levels of pension expense for these plan sponsors. Collectively, these pensions went into the year expecting a $30 billion charge to earnings, with the final number almost doubling that estimate, at $59.4 billion.
March 22, 2011
March 9, 2011
Milliman analysis: Corporate pension funded status drops in February despite market gains
Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the latest update to the Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index, which consists of 100 of the nation's largest defined benefit pension plans. In February, these plans experienced asset increases of $15 billion and liability increases of $21 billion, resulting in a $6 billion decrease in pension funded status for the month. The decline follows two consecutive months of improvement and is the exception to a recent upward trend in pension funding that has shrunk the pension funded deficit to $255 billion since the funded status deficit hit an all-time high of $460 billion in August. For the last 12 months, despite a 13% return on assets, these pensions experienced a $1 billion decline in funded status.
Feb. 9, 2011
Milliman analysis: Corporate pensions begin 2011 with improvement in funded status
Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the latest update to the Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index, which consists of 100 of the nation’s largest defined benefit pension plans. In January, these plans experienced asset increases of $6 billion and liability decreases of $35 billion, resulting in a $41 billion increase in pension funded status for the month and the second consecutive month of positive performance. For the last 12 months, these pensions experienced a $15 billion improvement in funded status, which compares favorably to the performance over the course of calendar year 2010, when these pensions saw the funded status deficit increase by $49 billion.
Jan. 11, 2011
Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the latest update to the Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index, which consists of 100 of the nation’s largest defined benefit pension plans. In December, these plans experienced asset increases of $24 billion and liability decreases of $20 billion, resulting in a $44 billion increase in pension funded status for the month. For the year, these pensions experienced asset increases of $50 billion but a liability increase of $99 billion, increasing the pension funded status deficit by $49 billion.
Dec. 13, 2010
Milliman analysis: Corporate pensions take a step back in November
Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the latest update to the Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index, which consists of 100 of the nation’s largest defined benefit pension plans. In November, these plans experienced asset decreases of $8 billion and liability increases of $14 billion, resulting in a $22 billion decrease in pension funded status for the month. November’s decline in funded status follows two months of improvement and leaves the pension funding deficit at $335 billion.
Nov. 12, 2010
Milliman analysis: A second consecutive month of pension gains
Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the latest update to the Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index, which consists of 100 of the nation’s largest defined benefit pension plans. In October, these plans experienced asset increases of $15 billion and liability decreases of $64 billion, resulting in a $79 billion increase in pension funded status for the month. October marks the second consecutive month of pension gains, following a 10-year low in August.
Oct. 27, 2010
Seattle—Results from Milliman's 2010 Group Health Insurance Survey indicate estimated premium rate increases for January 2011 renewals will average 10.2% for Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) and 11.7% for Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs). In addition to typical rate increases due to utilization and cost experience, these planned increases also likely reflect some change due to implementing the requirements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).
Oct. 8, 2010
Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the latest update to the Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index, which consists of 100 of the nation's largest defined benefit pension plans. In September, these plans experienced asset increases of $38 billion and liability decreases of $29 billion, resulting in a $67 billion increase in pension funded status for the month. The improvement comes on the heels of August lows that constituted the worst reported pension funded status in the 10 years of this study.
Sept. 17, 2010
Milliman explains assumptions and methodology used in Nebraska Medicaid budget exposure analysis
Seattle—Milliman has been retained by several states, most visibly Nebraska and Indiana, to calculate the budget exposure for state Medicaid agencies created by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Recent criticism of this analysis, especially in Nebraska, ignores the explanations of methodologies in our report and overlooks important implications that go beyond the bottom line numbers.
Sept. 14, 2010
Milliman analysis indicates worst pension funded status in a decade
Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the latest update to the Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index, which consists of 100 of the nation’s largest defined benefit pension plans. In August, defined benefit pension plans experienced asset declines of $17 billion and liability increases of $91 billion, resulting in a $108 billion decline in pension funded status for the month. The decline brings the funded ratio down to 70.1%—the lowest in the ten-year history of this study. The last time the funded ratio was nearly this low was on May 31, 2003, when it stood at 70.5%.
Sept. 7, 2010
Milliman expands presence in Asia
Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a leading global consulting and actuarial firm, today announced the hiring of five senior insurance consultants to meet the needs of the rapidly growing Asia-Pacific insurance markets. The new additions expand upon Milliman's existing consulting teams in Hong Kong, Mumbai, New Delhi, Seoul, Shanghai, Sydney, Taipei and Tokyo.
Sept. 2, 2010
U.K.-based Phoenix Group selects Milliman for Actuarial Systems Transformation project
Seattle—Milliman, Inc. today announced that U.K.-based Phoenix Group has selected the company as provider for its Actuarial Systems Transformation project. "Having acquired many companies with a variety of actuarial projection systems and models, we sought a provider who can work closely with us to simplify, rationalize, and streamline our processes," said Andy Moss, Phoenix Life finance director. "We must be able to gain Solvency II internal model approval, monitor and manage our risks on a daily basis and drive internal operational efficiency savings across our full business. We believe that the combination of Milliman's consulting expertise, the MG-ALFA® actuarial projection system and the Daily Solvency Monitoring System (DSMS) offers us such a solution."
Sept. 1, 2010
A new approach towards emerging risk for life assurance
In a presentation at the Current Issues in Life Assurance (CILA) seminar, hosted by the U.K.'s Actuarial Profession on September 1, Milliman's Neil Cantle presents a new approach for the early identification of risk. The approach looks at underlying business risk factors and assesses emerging risk by examining the uncertainty in the observed performance of an organization and the interactions of risk drivers.
Aug. 12, 2010
Milliman analysis indicates improved funded status in July after three months of decline
Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the latest update to the Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index, which consists of 100 of the nation's largest defined benefit pension plans. In July, defined benefit pension plans experienced asset increases of $32 billion and liability increases of $7 billion, resulting in a $25 billion increase in funded status.
Aug. 2, 2010
Early Milliman survey results indicate Group Health Insurance rates to rise 9% to 11% in 2011
Seattle—Preliminary results from Milliman's 2010 Group Health Insurance Survey indicate premium rate increases continue to exceed the government's official rate of inflation and are higher than premium increases in recent years. The estimated January 2011 renewal increases are about 9.0% for health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and 11.0% for preferred provider organizations (PPOs). This marks the 17th time that Milliman has conducted the survey, the complete version of which will be available in late October.
July 13, 2010
Milliman analysis indicates third consecutive month of declining pension funded status
Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the latest update to the Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index, which consists of 100 of the nation’s largest defined benefit pension plans. In June, defined benefit pension plans experienced asset decreases of $19 billion and liability increases of $64 billion, resulting in an $83 billion deterioration in funding status.
May 13, 2010
Milliman analysis indicates pension funded status declined $33 billion in April
May 11, 2010
Milliman indicates healthcare costs increase $1,303 in 2010 for family of four
April 20, 2010
Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the 2010 Milliman Pension Funding Study, which analyzes the annual performance of 100 of the nation's largest defined benefit pension plans. In 2009, pensions experienced asset returns of 14.1%, compared with sponsors' expectation of 8.1%, but saw only modest funding increases overall. Despite a $112 billion improvement in market value, the pension funding deficit decreased by only $10.6 billion, leaving these 100 pensions with a shortfall of $243 billion at the end of the fiscal year. As of March 31, 2010, that shortfall had been further reduced to around $208 billion.
April 19, 2010
Milliman MedInsight adds First Choice Health Network as client
Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today announced that First Choice Health Network (First Choice) will adopt Milliman MedInsight® as its healthcare data warehousing platform. First Choice is a Seattle-based physician and hospital owned company that has served Washington and the Northwest since 1985. First Choice's preferred provider organization (PPO) is recognized as the leading independent PPO network in Washington and Oregon. In addition to its leading PPO, First Choice offers Third Party Administration (TPA) services and will deploy MedInsight to support the rapid growth it has experienced in the past year.
April 15, 2010
Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today announced it will host a free webinar on the latest aspects of the move toward mental health parity. On Thursday, April 29 at 2PM EDT, behavioral healthcare expert Steve Melek will host a 90-minute webinar to discuss compliance with the Wellstone-Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA). Compliance with the Act is required for plan renewals on or after July 1, 2010, a few short months from now.
March 27, 2010
Milliman identifies strategic considerations for the post-healthcare reform environment
Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today announced an initiative focused on providing meaningful insight that can help healthcare stakeholders effectively navigate healthcare reform.
March 9, 2010
Milliman analysis: Pension funding up based on modest asset gains in February
Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the latest update to the Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index, which consists of 100 of the nation's largest defined benefit pension plans. In February, pensions experienced asset increases of $10 billion and liability decreases of $1 billion, resulting in an $11 billion increase in funding status. The relatively static month on the liability side emphasizes the crucial role interest rates will play in any return to full funding.
Feb. 22, 2010
Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released results from a study of physician professional liability in the State of Illinois. A Feb. 4 decision by the Illinois Supreme Court overturned caps on non-economic damages awarded to claimants. This change in the tort law is likely to have financial implications for insurers in Illinois. Indemnity claim severities will increase by approximately 23% and the average cost that insurers expend defending claims will increase by 10%, relative to what these costs would have been had the cap held. The average overall increase in claim severity will be approximately 18%.
Feb. 10, 2010
Off to a poor start: Milliman analysis shows pension funding declines in January 2010
Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the latest update to the Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index (PFI), which consists of 100 of the nation's largest defined benefit pension plans. In January, pensions experienced asset decreases of $12 billion and liability increases of $12 billion, resulting in a $24 billion decrease in funded status in the first month of the year. The January decrease followed two positive months and reduced the funded ratio from 77.7% to 76.1%. As of January 31, total asset value of these pensions stood at $1.029 trillion (down from $1.041 at the end of December) while the projected benefit obligation rose to $1.353 trillion (up from $1.341 at the end of December).
Feb. 2, 2010
Milliman MedInsight provides analytic platform and tools to emerging data-driven healthcare system
Seattle—Milliman, Inc., one of the premier global consulting and actuarial firms, today announced that its data-mining analytic platform, MedInsight®, is now available for use by a wider variety of healthcare organizations seeking improved efficiency. MedInsight has created a new sales and marketing team to engage these organizations, which include accountable care organizations, community data-pooling operations, and provider groups looking to implement risk-based contracting and the "medical home" model. MedInsight will continue to serve its core market of health plans, third-party administrators, and employers.
Jan. 19, 2010
Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the latest update to the Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index, which consists of 100 of the nation’s largest defined benefit pension plans. In December, pensions experienced asset increases of $5 billion and liability decreases of $32 billion, resulting in a $37 billion increase in funding status. December was the second consecutive month of improvement after six months of declining funding status. Overall, pension funding declined $31 billion during 2009. The funded ratio at the end of December stood at 77.7%, compared to 78.3% at the end of 2008.
Dec. 14, 2009
Milliman analysis shows first improvement in pension funding status in six months
Nov. 10, 2009
Milliman analysis indicates sixth straight month of pension funding declines
Seattle—Milliman, Inc., one of the premier global consulting and actuarial firms, today released the latest update to the Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index, which consists of 100 of the nation’s largest defined benefit pension plans. In October, pensions experienced asset decreases of $7 billion and liability decreases of roughly $3 billion, resulting in a $4 billion decrease in funded status. The funded ratio decreased from 75.3% to 75%.
Oct. 15, 2009
Milliman analysis indicates fifth straight month of pension funding declines
Seattle—Milliman, Inc., one of the premier global consulting and actuarial firms, today released the latest update to the Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index, which consists of 100 of the nation’s largest defined benefit pension plans. In September, pensions experienced asset increases of $15 billion and liability increases of roughly $17 billion, resulting in a $2 billion decrease in funded status. Despite the net drop in funded status, the funded ratio actually increased to 75.3% based on $1.022 trillion in assets and a projected benefit obligation of $1.358 trillion.
Sept. 22, 2009
Milliman announces the opening of a new office in San Juan, Puerto Rico
Seattle—Milliman, Inc., one of the premier worldwide consulting and actuarial firms, announced today that it has opened a new office in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The consultancy, in concert with other Milliman offices, will continue to serve existing clients while expanding the range and depth of Milliman health-related service offerings.
Sept. 15, 2009
Milliman report addresses the potential impact of height and weight on medical costs
Seattle—A new report issued by Milliman reveals the unrealized potential of height and weight characteristics in predicting medical claim costs. The research demonstrates that the commonly used metric for height and weight, the Body Mass Index (BMI), may not be the best indicator of future healthcare costs.
Aug. 26, 2009
Milliman merges its business in the Netherlands with HV&P Adviseurs en actuarissen
Seattle—Milliman, Inc., one of the premier worldwide consulting and actuarial firms, announced today that it has merged its existing business in the Netherlands with HV&P Adviseurs en actuarissen, an independent employee benefits consulting firm based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Effective immediately, HV&P will become Milliman Pensioenen vof. HV&P consultants and actuaries was established in 1999. Its clients are chiefly pension funds, the corporate sector and insurance companies.
July 13, 2009
Milliman introduces Power to Know
Seattle—Milliman's Employee Benefits practice, a premier provider of total retirement outsourcing services, has unveiled a comprehensive program to help plan sponsors and plan participants see deeper into their retirement plans and make informed, measurable, and successful decisions. Milliman's Power to KnowSM is a proprietary set of tools that applies to a plan sponsor's entire retirement program.
April 9, 2009
Milliman study indicates first gain in pension funded status since July
Seattle—Milliman, Inc., one of the premier global consulting and actuarial firms, today released the latest update to the Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index, which consists of 100 of the nation’s largest defined benefit pension plans. In March, pensions experienced their first gain in funded status since July 2008. It was the first month in which a gain in assets—$30 billion—improved pension funding status since May 2008. These gains were coupled with liability decreases of roughly $18 billion due to increases in discount rates, resulting in a $48 billion improvement in funded status for the month. These gains improved funded status to 77.7%.
March 25, 2009
Milliman releases P&C Reserve Variability Model version 1.4
March 24, 2009
Milliman study: Five years of corporate pension gains wiped out in 2008
March 11, 2009
Pensions experience $33 billion decline in funded status in February
Feb. 12, 2009
Pension contributions expected to double in 2009
Seattle—Milliman, Inc., one of the premier global consulting and actuarial firms, today released the latest update to the Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index, which consists of 100 of the nation's largest defined benefit pension plans. In January, pensions lost another $49 billion in assets. These losses were offset by liability decreases of roughly $26 billion, resulting in a net loss of $23 billion in funding status for the month. The funding ratio of 74.9% leaves pensions with a steep funding hurdle for the rest of the year.
Jan. 28, 2009
Milliman chairman advocates reasonable valuation and capital standards for insurers
Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a leading provider of actuarial consulting services to the life insurance industry, this week provided testimony in support of reserve and asset valuations as well as capital standards that more fairly and accurately reflect the underlying economics of the life insurance business. On Tuesday, Milliman chairman Bradley M. Smith appeared before the Capital and Surplus Relief Working Group of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) meeting in Washington, D.C.
Jan. 16, 2009
Milliman says 2008 ended with biggest pension funding loss of the year
Seattle—Milliman, Inc., one of the premier global consulting and actuarial firms, today released the latest update to the Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index, which consists of 100 of the nation's largest defined benefit pension plans. In December, pensions saw a 141-basis-point drop in interest rates, resulting in $130 billion in liability losses to end the year. Accounting for investment gains of $16 billion, pensions lost $114 billion in December. After starting the year with a 104.9% funded ratio, the 100 largest pensions ended the year at 77.2%.
Dec. 12, 2008
Pensions lose $95 billion in November
Seattle—Milliman, Inc., one of the premier global consulting and actuarial firms, today released the latest update to the Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index, which consists of 100 of the nation's largest defined benefit pension plans. In November, pensions continued to face asset losses and, after adjustment for liability increases, surrendered a total of $95 billion, dropping pension funding to 84.7%, an almost 20-percentage-point decline from the funded ratio at the beginning of the year.
Dec. 1, 2008
Hedging programs save insurers $40 billion during economic crisis
Seattle—Milliman, Inc., one of the premier global consulting and actuarial firms, today released an analysis of hedging program performance during the current capital markets crisis. Milliman's internal study shows that during the volatile months of September and October, the hedging programs developed to protect variable annuities (VAs) with guarantees were 93% effective. This resulted in a saving of an estimated $40 billion in industry-wide assets for the insurance companies that write these products while protecting a much larger quantity of assets under management. This hedging performance stands in stark contrast to the results of other financial instruments during this time period.
Nov. 25, 2008
Milliman advocates reasonable valuation and capital standards
Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a leading provider of actuarial consulting services to the life insurance industry, today announced its support of efforts by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) to develop reserve and asset valuations as well as capital standards that more fairly and accurately reflect the underlying economics of the life insurance business.
