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15 February 2019
Public pension assets plummet in 2018 Q4, experiencing largest quarterly losses in two yearsSeattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the 2018 fourth quarter results of its Public Pension Funding Index (PPFI), which consists of the nation’s 100 largest public defined benefit pension plans. In 2018 Q4, these plans experienced a $306 billion loss in funding, largely due to a disappointing quarterly investment return of -6.39% in aggregate. This marks the largest quarterly funding decrease since the PPFI began in September 2016. Estimated investment returns for plans in Q4 ranged from a low of -10.27% to a high of -2.18%. As a result, the funding ratio of the Milliman PPFI dropped from 72.9% at the end of September to 67.2% as of December 31.
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08 February 2019
Milliman analysis: Corporate pensions’ funding status boosted by January investment gains, funding ratio at 91%Seattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the results of its latest Pension Funding Index (PFI), which analyzes the 100 largest U.S. corporate pension plans. In January, these pensions experienced a $19 billion increase in funded status thanks to healthy investment gains. In fact, January’s asset return of 3.35% was greater than any prior monthly asset return in 2018. The funding ratio for the Milliman 100 PFI plans rose from 89.7% at the end of December to 91.0% as of January 31, and the funding status deficit narrowed from $167 billion to $148 billion during the same time period.
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07 February 2019
Milliman actuary named first ever US-based Independent Expert after Oklahoma passes Insurance Business Transfer ActSeattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today announced that Stephen DiCenso, FCAS, MAAA, has been appointed as the country’s first Independent Expert (IE) following the passage of Oklahoma’s Insurance Business Transfer Act. Effective as of November 1, 2018, the Insurance Business Transfer Act is the broadest legislation of its kind to-date in the United States.
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05 February 2019
Milliman wins two InsuranceERM awards with latest European insurtech offeringsParis—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, is pleased to announce that it has won two 2018-2019 InsuranceERM Awards for the firm’s insurtech offerings. Milliman Mind, a cloud-based platform which automatically converts Excel spreadsheets to more powerful models, was named “Best end-user computing risk management solution,” while Milliman CHESS (Cloud Hosted Economic Scenario Simulator), a cloud-based ESG web application, has won in the “Best ESG Software” category. Both insurtech products demonstrate the firm’s ability to solve important industry problems by pairing Milliman’s subject matter expertise with innovative thinking and solutions.
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24 January 2019
Milliman study finds no correlation between level of public pension benefits and health of plans’ funded statusSeattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the results of its 2018 Public Pension Funding Study (PPFS), which analyzes funding levels of the nation’s 100 largest public pension plans, including an independent assessment on the expected real return of each plan’s investments.
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15 January 2019
The Doctors Company now using Milliman Datalytics-Defense’s innovative AI platform for its claims defense managementSeattle—Milliman, Inc., the premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today announced that The Doctors Company has implemented Milliman Datalytics-Defense® as its advanced analytics legal management platform for processing defense cost invoices. The choice of Datalytics-Defense puts The Doctors Company at the forefront of claims defense management, allowing the medical malpractice insurer to collaborate with defense counsel to use best practices for defense strategy through artificial intelligence and data-driven decisions. Milliman Datalytics-Defense employs powerful data mining algorithms and machine learning to help insurers and self-insureds detect patterns in attorney billing practices, delivering a better understanding of costs and case strategies.
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14 January 2019
Healthcare Trend Guidelines transitioning from S&P to MillimanSeattle—Milliman, Inc., one of the premier global consulting and actuarial firms, today announced the transition of the industry’s leading healthcare cost trend indices from S&P/Dow Jones to Milliman. Since 2013, Milliman has co-developed these indices in conjunction with S&P and Health Index Advisors Inc. (HIA), a joint venture in which Milliman was a 50% shareholder. Upon transition, the indices will be re-branded to the Milliman Health Trend Guidelines. With the Health Trend Guidelines now returning to Milliman, clients will have the benefit of combining Milliman’s expertise with the best health cost trend tool available. These Guidelines are built on a database of approximately 60 million commercially-insured lives, representing about 40% of the total U.S. fee-for-service health insurance market.
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11 January 2019
Milliman year-end analysis: Investment losses and stagnant discount rates in Q4 derail stellar year for corporate pensionsSeattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the year-end results of its latest Pension Funding Index (PFI), which analyzes the 100 largest U.S. corporate pension plans. In 2018, corporate pension funding ended higher for the year, with the funding ratio climbing from 87.6% at the end of 2017 to 89.9% as of December 31, 2018. While plan assets declined by $93 billion for the year due to poor asset performance, plan liabilities also fell thanks to a discount rate increase of 66 basis points. In aggregate, these plans experienced a $56 billion improvement in funded status for the year.
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10 December 2018
Milliman analysis: Corporate pensions likely to miss 2018 investment return assumptionsSeattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the results of its latest Pension Funding Index (PFI), which analyzes the 100 largest U.S. corporate pension plans. In November, these pensions experienced a $7 billion increase in funded status resulting from a robust investment gain of 0.72%. This brings the PFI’s year-to-date investment performance to a loss of 1.49%, making it likely these plans will miss the expected return assumption for 2018.
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10 December 2018
Milliman’s Pixel offers new features that allow home and flood insurers to review premiums and losses by perilSeattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today announced new features for Pixel™, Milliman’s web-based, interactive premium comparison and market analysis tool for personal residential and flood insurance.
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05 December 2018
Milliman adds Timber Operators Council – Woodworkers, IAM Defined Contribution Plan and Trust as a retirement services clientSeattle—Milliman, Inc., one of the premier global consulting, actuarial, and administration firms, today announced it has added the Timber Operators Council – Woodworkers, IAM Defined Contribution Plan and Trust as a defined contribution client. The plan includes over 4,300 participants and $150 million in assets.
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28 November 2018
MillimanBenefits.com adds leading edge security featureSeattle—Milliman, Inc., one of the premier global consulting and actuarial firms, today announced a new security feature on Millimanbenefits.com, which hosts account information for participants in Milliman client retirement plans. The leading edge Account Lock feature allows participants to “lock down” their accounts to prevent any distributions or loans from being initiated while it is locked. It gives participants an added layer of defense against external security threats.
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13 November 2018
Physicians Insurance teams with Milliman Datalytics-Defense to apply machine-learning to claims management strategiesSeattle—Milliman, Inc., the premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today announced that Physicians Insurance A Mutual Company has selected Milliman Datalytics-Defense® as its advanced analytics legal management platform for processing defense cost invoices. Milliman Datalytics-Defense employs powerful data mining algorithms and machine learning to help insurers and self-insureds detect patterns in attorney billing practices, delivering a better understanding of both costs and defense strategies.
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09 November 2018
Milliman analysis: Corporate pensions experience largest one-month investment loss in a decade, but year-to-date funding remains healthySeattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the results of its latest Pension Funding Index (PFI), which analyzes the 100 largest U.S. corporate pension plans. In October, these pensions experienced a $13 billion decline in funded status resulting from a significant investment loss of 3.42%. This brings the PFI’s year-to-date investment performance to a loss of 1.99%; October 2018 marks the biggest one-month investment loss for these plans since January 2008’s 3.57% loss. From September 30 to October 31, the PFI’s asset value declined by $57 billion, while the funded ratio dropped one percentage point from 94.4% to 93.4%.
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12 October 2018
Milliman analysis: Funded ratio for 100 largest U.S. corporate pensions hits 10-year high in SeptemberSeattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the results of its latest Pension Funding Index (PFI), which analyzes the 100 largest U.S. corporate pension plans. In September, these pensions experienced a $21 billion increase in funded status due to an increase in the benchmark corporate bond interest rates used to value pension liabilities. From August 31 to September 30, the monthly discount rate rose 13 basis points, climbing from 4.05% to 4.18%. As a result, the projected benefit obligation (PBO) for these plans decreased by $27 billion, but was offset by a $6 billion decrease due to investment losses. As of September 30, the funding ratio for the Milliman 100 PFI was at 94.5%, up from 93.3% the previous month.
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11 October 2018
Milliman analysis: Flat returns for multiemployer pensions in first half of 2018 dampen funding progressSeattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the results of its Fall 2018 Multiemployer Pension Funding Study (MPFS), which analyzes the funded status of all multiemployer pension plans in the United States. As of June 30, 2018, the aggregate funded ratio of these plans was at 81%, down from 83% at the end of 2017.
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04 October 2018
Milliman selected as MassHealth DSRIP Technical Assistance vendor for actuarial/financial and population health management servicesSEATTLE – Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm today announced that it has been selected as a vendor for MassHealth’s Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) Technical Assistance (TA) program and the MA DSRIP TA Marketplace. The TA Marketplace serves to enable MassHealth Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and Community Partners (CPs) to easily navigate and tap into the array of resources and supports available to them through the MassHealth DSRIP TA Program.
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01 October 2018
Milliman hires investment banking vet Paul Fulcher as senior consultant in LondonLondon—– Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today announced that it has hired investment banking and capital management expert Paul Fulcher as a new senior consultant in London. With almost three decades of actuarial experience, including the last 18 years in investment banking, Fulcher will focus on expanding the firm’s capabilities in capital and asset-liability management (ALM). He joins Milliman from Nomura, where he served as Managing Director, ALM Structuring and Insurance Solutions for the past six years, winning Risk Solutions House of the Year from Risk Magazine in 2018. Previously, Fulcher directed risk advisory teams at both Royal Bank of Scotland and UBS.
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24 September 2018
Milliman launches Pixel for flood insurance at 2018 InsureTech Connect in Las VegasSeattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today announced the launch of Pixel™ for flood insurance at this year’s InsureTech Connect conference in Las Vegas. Pixel is Milliman’s market analysis platform for personal residential and now flood insurance.
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12 September 2018
Milliman analysis: Corporate pension funding drops by $3 billion in AugustSeattle—Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the results of its latest Pension Funding Index (PFI), which analyzes the 100 largest U.S. corporate pension plans. In August, these pensions experienced a $3 billion drop in funded status due to a decrease in the benchmark corporate bond interest rates used to value pension liabilities. The monthly discount rate fell six basis points from 4.11% in July to 4.05% as of August 31. The projected benefit obligation (PBO) for these plans increased by $12 billion during this time period, while the market value of assets rose by $9 billion thanks to August’s strong investment gains of 0.85%. The funding ratio for the Milliman 100 PFI dipped slightly during the month from 93.5% to 93.3%.