Academy's '2018: Making Issues Count' Website Provides Voters With Nonpartisan, Expert Information on Key Issues

WASHINGTON, May 24, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As the political campaigns for the 2018 fall elections move into high gear after Memorial Day and candidates discuss their public policy positions during debates and in other forums, voters will have access through Election Day to nonpartisan, expert analysis of several key issues through new, user-friendly guides from the American Academy of Actuaries, available on the "2018: Making Issues Count" website at election2018.actuary.org.

"Issues of financial security and financial risk touch voters' lives in deep and very personal ways, ranging from having an adequate retirement income and access to affordable, quality health care, to mitigating the financial consequences of damages to homes and other property caused by severe weather or natural catastrophes," said Academy President Steve Alpert. "Providing objective and informed guides to public policy options for addressing these challenges is an important way in which the U.S. actuarial profession serves the voting public during this campaign season."

The "2018: Making Issues Count" website features election guides organized in six major issue areas on which voters can base their consideration of candidate positions:

• Social Security. These guides describe the financial condition of the Social Security system, the implications of proposals to change benefits, and public policy options for addressing its financial challenges, including raising the normal retirement age for receiving unreduced retired-worker benefits.
• Medicare and Medicaid. Two guides examine the current structure and financing of the Medicare and Medicaid programs, and the implications of different approaches to financing and coverage.
• Health insurance coverage. This guide examines what's needed for the individual health insurance market to be financially sustainable, and how recently proposed regulations could impact market sustainability.
• Long-term care. This guide discusses the considerations that policymakers should take into account in any efforts to reform the LTC system.
• Lifetime income and retirement risk. This guide examines risks to financial security in retirement, such as longevity risk, and public policy options to help address them, including financial literacy education and the incorporation of lifetime options within employer-sponsored defined contribution plans.
• Climate risk. This guide helps explain the growing costs and consequences of extreme weather-related damage.

The "2018: Making Issues Count" website will be updated with additional information through Election Day.

The American Academy of Actuaries is a 19,000-member professional association whose mission is to serve the public and the U.S. actuarial profession. For more than 50 years, the Academy has assisted public policymakers on all levels by providing leadership, objective expertise, and actuarial advice on risk and financial security issues. The Academy also sets qualification, practice, and professionalism standards for actuaries in the United States.

SOURCE American Academy of Actuaries