As the world changes, the role of property and casualty (P&C) actuaries is changing too, from the emerging risks they study—including climate change and self-driving cars—to the technologies they employ to devise solutions. On this episode of Critical Point, Milliman recruiter Liz Shickles speaks with two P&C actuarial consultants, Zora Law from Milliman and Dane Grand-Maison from partner firm Eckler, about their own career journeys, the influence of AI (hint: it won’t ever replace learning), and advice for students and other professionals who want to enter the field.

You can read the episode transcript on our website.

Since 2005, the Milliman Medical Index (MMI) has estimated annual healthcare costs for people covered by a typical employer-sponsored health plan. To mark the 20th anniversary of the report, MMI authors past and present gathered to review how healthcare has changed over the past two decades. They discussed the impact of the Affordable Care Act and the COVID-19 pandemic, the rise in drug advertising and outpatient care, and how trends might change again in the next 20 years.

You can read the episode transcript on our website.

While the number of traditional pensions has been shrinking for decades, one type of defined benefit (DB) plan is expanding: the cash balance plan. Combining features of DB and 401(k) plans, cash balance plans are particularly well-suited to helping small-business owners and highly paid professionals such as doctors and lawyers save for retirement. On this episode of Critical Point, three Milliman employee benefits experts explain why the number of cash balance plans has recently swelled to 25,000, how plans can be tailored to fit organizations of all sizes, and why this hybrid plan style may help address the looming retirement crisis.