Event:  November 2006 Meeting

Topic:  Important Issues in Pension Plans Today
This presentation draws heavily on the research the Society of Actuaries has done on public
knowledge, and also includes Anna Rappaport’s opinions with regard to the future of retirement.  Much of the presentation is drawn from the Congressional Staff briefing presented on June 19, 2006 by the American Academy of Actuaries and the SOA.

Speaker:  Anna M. Rappaport, F.S.A., M.A.A.A. founded Anna Rappaport Consulting after retiring from Mercer Human Resource Consulting at the end of 2004.  She is a past-president of the Society of Actuaries and chairs the Society of Actuaries Committee on Post-Retirement Needs and Risks.  She is an active advocate for women's retirement issues and serves on several boards and has worked actively with the Actuarial Foundation to enhance retirement education.  More information on Anna could be found at www.annarappaport.com  and more information on the research at www.soa.org .

Date:  Tuesday November 14, 2006
3:30  Registration    /  4:00  Speaker    /    5:00  Hors d’oeuvres

Location:  Blue Cross & Blue Shield of IL, CAL Conference Room 5
300 E. Randolph St., Chicago, IL 60601

Cost:
  Members:    $30 with hors d’oeuvres, $20 without hors d’oeuvres
  Non Members:    $40 with hors d’oeuvres, $30 without hors d’oeuvres
  Retirees/Unemployed:  $10 with hors d’oeuvres, Free without

Event:  November 2006 After-Exam Fun

What:  Whirlyball ! 
Come out and celebrate the end of another actuarial exam season!  The Chicago Actuarial Association (CAA) has reserved a court at Whirlyball and would love to celebrate with you once exams are over.  After the stress of studying, what could be more fun than smashing into each other’s bumper cars?

When:  Thursday November 9, 2006, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Cost:        

Event: October 2006 Meeting and Reception
    at the Society of Actuaries Annual Meeting

Topic: Underfunding of Illinois State Pension Plan and Medicaid

Speaker:  Jim Watson, Illinois State representative (R-97th district)

Jim Watson, an MBA graduate of the University of Illinois, has been a member of the Illinois House of Representatives since 2001.  He serves on various standing committees, including Financial Institutions, and has had special assignments on the Long-Term Debt Committee and the Pension Task Force.  He will give us an “inside look” at the actuarial issues of pension and healthcare funding that our legislators must face.

Cost:  Free 

Refreshments include pizza, popcorn, pretzels, peanuts, chips, soft drinks, beer, and wine.  Also advertised to out-of-town attendees, this may be a good opportunity for local actuaries and students to meet actuaries from outside our area.

Event: September 2006  Meeting

Topic:  Professional Ethics for the Actuary
Why do we need all the elaborate structure under the heading of “Professional Ethics”?  We have a detailed Code of Conduct, Standards of Practice, and a Discipline system, all of which takes a lot of time and energy.  Why can’t we simply rely on our legal system, pushing for reasonable laws and relying on court enforcement?  Are we reinventing the wheel?  [Hint:  NO!] 

Speaker:  Linden N. Cole, F.S.A., M.A.A.A.    Linden Cole retired as Managing Director of the Society of Actuaries in 1998, after 18 years on SOA staff.  He continues teaching the SOA’s required professionalism courses.  At the SOA office, he provided staff support to the Society’s Education and Examination Committee from 1980 to 1994, as well as the Life Insurance Practice Area.  He also provided staff support to the Committee on Discipline and the Committee on Professionalism.  He was involved in the development of many of the case studies for the Fellowship Admissions Course.  During his tenure at the SOA, he authored the paper, “Fellowship Exams from a Grader’s Point of View”.  In a former life, Mr. Cole was Second Vice President and Actuary with Mutual Benefit Life in New Jersey, responsible for earnings forecasts and annual statement preparation, as well as the actuarial student program.  During his tenure there, he also held positions on the Society's E&E Committee, serving as an exam committee chair and as Education Chairperson.  He holds an A.B., cum laude, in Mathematics from Harvard University. 

Date:  Tuesday September 19, 2006   3:30 Registration   /   4:00 Speaker   /  5:00 Hors d’oeuvres

Location:  Blue Cross & Blue Shield of IL, CAL Conference Room 1
300 E. Randolph St., Chicago, IL 60601

Event:  2006 CAA Golf Outing

Date:  Friday August 25th, 2006

Location:  Shepherd’s Crook Golf Course, Zion, IL
Tee Times:  12:00pm to 1:30 pm (see flyer)
Fee: $30
Coordinator:  Greg Sucher, BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois

We will once again promote networking with fellow Chicago / Wisconsin actuaries by requiring participants to submit their applications with at most one other person.  Golfing foursomes will be based on blind bogey and requested time slot.  The blind bogey should be a number that when subtracted from your 18-hole score gives a result between 72 and 90. 
Golf Outing Results:
Closest to pin = Bob LaLonde, Insight Decision Solutions (5 yards)
Longest Drive = Eric Lo, Trustmark Insurance (250 yards)
Longest Putt = A.J. Tyll, Trustmark Insurance (10 feet)
Blind Bogey = Bob LaLonde, Insight Decision Solutions
Lowest Score = Bob LaLonde, Insight Decision Solutions (93)

Event: June 2006 Event:  Post Exam Fun @ the Ballpark

Actuarial exams will soon be over, and it’s time to have some fun!  We are sponsoring an actuarial group outing to a baseball game at U. S. Cellular Field, home of baseball’s 2005 World Series Champions, the Chicago White Sox.  Seats will be located in the upper deck, just past third base.  Comiskey Cash will be provided at the game to exam takers, supervisors, proctors, and review class instructors.  Other attendees will be responsible for their own food & drinks.

We will provide tickets to exam participants and members of the Chicago Actuarial Association or the Wisconsin Actuaries Club at no charge.  We will ask other guests to pay $14 per ticket. Payment can be made in advance by check or credit card.  At the ballpark, exam takers will get $15 in Comiskey Cash by presenting their blue ticket of admission to the exam.  Exam supervisors, proctors, and review class instructors will get $15 in Comiskey Cash by presenting a photo ID if their name is on Pat Pruitt’s list of exam volunteers and instructors.  Members and others will be responsible for their own cash expenditures.

Event:  May 2006 Joint Meeting with Smaller Consulting Firm Section
Tuesday, May 9th at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois

Topic:   The Four People You Meet When Making an Effective Presentation

 Johnny “The Transition Man” Campbell-DTM, is an author and business consultant, who specializes in helping people learn that dealing with: Difficult People, Change, and Customer service, can be Easy, Productive and Profitable. Johnny is a rising star in the speaking industry with only 5 years of full time speaking he has already delivered over 400 presentations to audiences across the country. Along with speaking and authoring 8 books, he has also appeared on television and in several movies.

Location:   Blue Cross & Blue Shield of IL, Columbus B/C
                 300 E. Randolph St., Chicago, IL 60601  .

Event:  2006 Annual March Workshops
Tuesday, March 14 at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois

SOA Professional Development (PD) Credit Update
(as of 3/8/2006):
Health sessions receiving 1 unit of PD credit:
A5, A7, B5, B7, C2 and C3
 
Pension/Retirement sessions getting 1 unit of PD:
A2, A6 (A6 also gets 60 minutes EA non-core)
B2, B6 (B6 also gets 60 minutes EA non-core)
C5, C6 (C6 also gets 30 minutes core and 30 minutes non-core EA credit) 
 
Life sessions receiving 1 unit of PD:
A1, A3, B1, B3, C1

The Chicago Actuarial Association spring workshops meeting offer an outstanding value for actuarial continuing education. You can choose a program of three hour-long presentations from a wide variety of actuarial topics, including health, pensions, life, annuities, financial reporting, and personal development, followed by a reception and dinner where you can network with your peers – all for just $60 plus the cost of commuting to downtown Chicago.  This includes the cost of dinner, with $50 being the cost of the workshops if you can't stay for dinner. The tentative dinner menu consists of filet mignon, salmon, or vegetable lasagna.

PD & EA Credit is being applied for at the Society of Actuaries for many of these sessions.  Further PD & EA submissions and approvals will be posted (see box above) on our website. So mark your calendar for Tuesday, March 14, and plan to spend the afternoon at the Blue Cross Blue Shield building at 300 E. Randolph getting up to date on the hottest topics in your industry, sharpening your skills, catching up with old friends, and making new ones.

The document link below contains descriptions of the workshop topics and times along with registration materials to be faxed to Pat Pruitt at 603-452-8018 or e-mailed to her at PatPruitt60302@yahoo.com by Wednesday, March 8, 2006.  If you have questions, please call Pat at 312-751-3392 or Achilles Natsis at 312-653-6453.  This information and subsequent updates are posted on this website http://meeting.ChicagoActuarialAssociation.org .

CLICK HERE to view the Program Details
For a session highlight of the longevity presentation, click here.

Reception menu
  (all attendees welcome for drinks and hors d’ oeuvres)
  Crab Stuffed Baby Portobello Cap with a Hollandaise Sauce.
  Mini-Crab Cakes with a Béarnaise Sauce.
  Seared Ahi-Tuna over Asian Rice Cracker with a Ginger Wasabi Chutney.
  Cherry Tomato stuffed with Boursin Cheese.

Dinner Menu:
  Boston Bibb Lettuce with Grape Tomatoes, Slice of Aged Bleu Cheese with a Brown Sugar-Vermouth Vinaigrette.

Dessert: Warm Molten Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and a strawberry sauce.
 

Event:  February 2006 Meeting featuring SoA President Bob Beuerlein
Thursday, February 23rd at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois

Topic:  An Inside Look at the Society of Actuaries
Society of Actuaries President Bob Beuerlein will give us an "inside look" at the SoA and describe recent moves that create opportunities for you, actuaries, and the profession.  Mr. Beuerlein is currently Senior Vice President and Chief Actuary of the AIG North American Life Insurance companies.  His actuarial career spans 27 years and includes almost a decade with Franklin Life in Springfield, Illinois (where he was also a part-owner of the Springfield Capitals, a Class A minor league baseball team).  In addition to his current position as President of the Society of Actuaries, Mr. Beuerlein has served on numerous Society of Actuaries and Academy of Actuaries committees, including 17 years on the SoA’s Examination committees.  He also was involved in the early development of the SoA Fellowship Admission Course and the Academy’s Life and Health Qualification Seminar.

Speaker:  Bob Beuerlein, FSA, MAAA
Senior VP and Chief Actuary, AIG North American Life Insurance companies
Society of Actuaries President

“Handouts”– Print a copy of the PowerPoint pages
   click here for a 7-page (6 slides per sheet) PDF file
   click here for a 41-page PDF file of full size images
Printed copies will not be provided at the presentation.  You need print your own.

Date:  Thursday February 23, 2006
3:30 Registration   /   4:00 Speaker   /   5:00 Hors d’oeuvres

Location:  Blue Cross & Blue Shield of IL, CAL Level – Conference Room 5
300 E. Randolph St., Chicago, IL 60601

Cost:  Free

Event:  January 2006 Meeting

Speaker:  Cheryl Krueger, FSA, Chief Actuary and
Acting Managing Director – Education and Exams, Society of Actuaries

Cheryl Krueger, an FSA and currently Acting Managing Director of the Education and Exam Department at the Society of Actuaries (SOA), will give a presentation on the changes underway in the SOA's basic education program ("EQ2005").  The focus of the presentation will be primarily geared to an overview of the overall changes.  In addition, a demonstration of the newly developed modules on the Fundamentals of Actuarial Practice (FAP) will be provided.

Specific conversion questions will not be addressed at this session.  If you have conversion questions, please send those directly to the SOA at EQ2005@soa.org.
 
Date:  Tuesday, January 24, 2006 
     3:30 Registration  /  4:00 Speaker  /  5:00 Hors d’oeuvres

Location:  Blue Cross & Blue Shield of IL, Corporate Activity Level (lower level) – Conference Room 5
300 E. Randolph St., Chicago, IL 60601. Hors D’oeuvres are in the CAL Atrium.