By Eric P. Harding
We get a lot of packages here at the Harding household. More during the pandemic. Even more during the holiday season in the middle of the pandemic.

'An Excellent ... Edition'

By Tom Campbell
If you’re reading this, it must be 2021. Just about everyone I know said they couldn’t wait for 2020 to end, and now that it has, we have to ask, “What will the New Year bring?”

By Mark Shemtob
As the private-sector retirement program landscape continues its march to a defined contribution (DC) world, actuaries might consider how their skills can be applied to improve retirement outcomes under DC programs.

By Albert J. Beer
Judging by vocal tones and body language, I think it is reasonable to assume that, upon hearing a reference to the Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline (ABCD), most actuaries would be more likely to think of the phrase “I’m from the IRS and I’m here to help” rather than a pleasant Beatles tune.

By Emily Puntenney and Gerry Smedinghoff
Medicare Advantage with Part D (MA-PD), Affordable Care Act (ACA) markets, and some state Medicaid managed care programs include a risk adjustment (RA) component.

By Stephen Meskin
For those who remember the puzzles I posed in my “Crossnumber Puzzles” (January/February 2019), the puzzles this time are to fill a 4 × 5 matrix in which each of the nine clues (four across and five down) is the same: a perfect square with the proviso that all nine perfect squares are different.

By Warren Manners

By Tom Toce
Puzzles are a good distraction during the COVID quarantine.

By Bob Rietz
I put a “Do Not Disturb” sign on my home office door, and my wife knows the reason for it.