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Government proposals for DC consolidation

The Government wants to set a minimum size for multi-employer DC schemes (from 2030 or later) but is not currently telling them how to invest. New duties for employers are also being considered. The Government has published an interim response to the first stage of its pensions review, alongside a consultation paper proposing fundamental changes to the market for workplace defined contribution (DC) schemes.
Posted on Monday Nov 18

A little less correlation a little more action please

Should you be happy if all your assets go up? On the face of it, it’s a simple question. You bought various assets in the hope and expectation that they’d gain value; on the rare occasions absolutely everything works out, you end up in a better position. And that’s something you can lock in, at least theoretically- so yes, you should be happy. But you might also be nervous. In a diversified portfolio, most of the time some assets will go up and a few will go down.
Posted on Friday Nov 15

Final day of voting on Stars of the Future 2024

It's the your last chance to vote for our nominees in this years Stars of the Future as we close voting tonight. It’s vital to remember that we all started somewhere and becoming an actuary is no easy feat. We relish in acknowledging the emerging talent within the actuarial market and celebrate the ones to watch with our Stars of the Future Awards. Sponsored by Star Actuarial Futures. Stars of the Future highlights the rising talent in the actuarial industry. We know how hard you all work to qualify as actuaries and this is the perfect way to acknowledge your hard work.
Posted on Thursday Nov 14

Enabling evidence based disaster risk management worldwide

In 2022, the Swiss Re Foundation teamed up with GFDRR to strengthen the basis for evidence-based disaster risk management worldwide, providing funding, as well as access to Swiss Re expertise. With our support, GFDRR created the RDL Standard and granted fellowships to seven young data scientists in climate-vulnerable countries to raise awareness of the RDL and increase the impact of climate risk studies. With the new data insights, the project has made information critical for potential climate risk investments worth 1.6 billion USD.
Posted on Wednesday Nov 13

Chartered actuary designation for IFoA qualified actuaries

The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) has now introduced chartered actuary designation for all IFoA Fellow members and IFoA Associate members. Following a consultation in late 2022, IFoA members voted to adopt chartered actuary designation. Currently, anyone can call themselves an actuary, but this chartered status is legally protected. This means that only qualified members of the IFoA will be able to call themselves a chartered actuary.
Posted on Tuesday Nov 12

The tricky question of mandating pensions investment

With just a few days to go until the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, makes her maiden Mansion House speech, speculation is running high. Although the Autumn Budget left pensions relatively untouched, Reeves made it clear that she has her sights set on new strategies to fuel economic growth. Now, all eyes are on her upcoming speech, where bold pension reforms could be on the menu.
Posted on Tuesday Nov 12

Personal Injury Discount rates next up is England and Wales

The revised personal injury discount rates for Scotland and Northern Ireland (N.I.) were published on 26 September 2024. The rates were updated as follows: Scotland: from -0.75% to +0.5% and Northern Ireland: from -1.5% to +0.5%. In this article we consider the impact of these changes and the implications for the upcoming review of the discount rate in England and Wales (known colloquially as the ‘Ogden rate’), which is due to be published by 11 January 2025.
Posted on Friday Nov 8

What does a Trump triumph mean for markets

Republicans could be about to sweep the White House, Senate and House of Representatives. Campaign policies seen as inflationary and adding to US deficit. History shows that the economic backdrop and starting point valuations are the key factors to US equity performance during a presidency. In stock market terms, Joe Biden has been an average president, as the Dow Jones Industrials index has advanced by 36.5% during his stint in office (so far)
Posted on Thursday Nov 7

Consolidation considerations

If you were to create a pension word cloud for this year, it would most probably have the word ‘consolidation’ in large letters, front and centre. Whether talking about individual savers, retirement planning, pension schemes, small pots or investment opportunities, consolidation is generally suggested as a potential solution. There have also been regulatory proposals and discussions over this year which would further drive consolidation of pension schemes, and ultimately the whole pensions market.
Posted on Tuesday Nov 5

Stars of the Future 2024 Vote Now

The nominations are now in and the shortlist has been finalised. The nominees are waiting for your votes. You can now vote for someone for Stars of the Future 2024, sponsored by Star Actuarial Futures. It’s vital to remember that we all started somewhere and becoming an actuary is no easy feat. We relish acknowledging the emerging talent within the actuarial market and celebrate the ones to watch with our Stars of the Future Awards. All of the finalists are celebrated and highlighted with three lucky winners taking home an award.
Posted on Monday Nov 4

Applications of PPDC in actuarial science

The actuarial profession is increasingly looking toward alternative data sources to enhance the accuracy and effectiveness of risk assessment models, but its use in actuarial science has been limited by concerns over data privacy and security. One of the most promising advancements in this space is the use of privacy-preserving data collaboration (PPDC) with retail data. This innovation allows actuaries to securely combine and analyse disparate data sets from retailers with theirs without compromising consumer privacy or data security.
Posted on Thursday Oct 31

Bulk annuities who steers the ship

A well-run bulk annuity process can look like plain sailing, while a badly run one is very much battling choppier waters and storm force winds. Below we consider some of the different advisory structures for leading a bulk annuity process, including the rise of co-led processes. There are definitely some icebergs in the water and the best outcome for any scheme is to avoid these, something best achieved by using an experienced team who know what to look out for.
Posted on Wednesday Oct 30

Managing physical climate risks affecting financial value

Climate change is amplifying your existing property damage and business interruption exposures. How can you better manage the risks and protect your organization? Climate change is significantly amplifying property damage and business interruption exposures. This is due to the increasing frequency and severity of natural catastrophe events such as floods, wildfires and storms, which are often exacerbated by climate change.
Posted on Monday Oct 28

Longevity benchmarking insights

Despite daily life returning to normal since the COVID-19 pandemic, insurers and reinsurers continue to face challenges when setting their longevity assumptions due to the uncertainty surrounding the long-term effects of the pandemic. This is in part due to the ever-evolving CMI model, in which the weight given to recent data is a key consideration and is leading to headaches across the industry. In this article, we set out some of the high-level takeaways from our 2024 longevity benchmarking survey
Posted on Friday Oct 25

Pensions industry urged to step up anti scam standards

Healthcare worker Pauline Padden shares her devastating experience of pension fraud in our latest video. It’s a powerful reminder for the pensions industry to step up protection for savers, and asks - are you doing all you can to protect people like Pauline? Watch the video and learn more.
Posted on Thursday Oct 24

Will Budget anxiety fuel non advised pension withdrawals

The upcoming Labour Budget, scheduled for 30 October, marks the party's first in 15 years. At the Labour Party Conference in late September, both Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves sought to reassure the public by promising that there would be “no return to austerity.” However, with the well-known £22 billion deficit that Reeves attributed to the previous government, it was also made clear that reducing this shortfall would involve sharing the burden “fairly,” with those “who have the broadest shoulders bearing the largest load.”
Posted on Thursday Oct 24

Responsible AI why it matters for Life and Health insurers

AI introduces new avenues for innovation and efficiency in L&H insurance, yet it also presents risks like bias, inaccuracy, misinformation, and ethical dilemmas. By implementing a Responsible AI (RAI) framework that adheres to principles of fairness, transparency, accountability, robustness, and privacy, insurers can design human-AI interactions that align with business goals and societal values, thereby enhancing AI adoption through increased confidence and trust.
Posted on Wednesday Oct 23

How do you solve a problem like Nvidia

At the time of writing, NVIDIA is down from its summer highs, and no longer worth as much as the entire UK stock market. Following the reported subpoena, it is now “only” as large as the FTSE 100. Clearly its valuation doesn’t exist in a vacuum, and is part of a broader story of AI and high valuations for tech firms. Still – is it a bubble? We have to be careful here. There’s good evidence that investing in equities with a value bias tends to outperform.
Posted on Wednesday Oct 23

Tapping into the data trinity

Looking at the strategic benefits of databases and how to get the best use out of them as data is increasingly becoming the currency for the world we live in. Not just the industry we operate in. It shapes the way we connect, work, and innovate. But with this ever-rising need for data we see an equally important appreciation for how it is organised, presented and accessed. Data streams on their own are vital sources of knowledge but meld them together and the crossover points quickly paint a more complete picture.
Posted on Tuesday Oct 22

The 2025 valuation and what to do with the surplus

Let's cut through the noise and explore the reality behind LGPS fund surpluses, current funding levels, and projections for the 2025 valuation. There’s been a lot of talk about emerging surplus in Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) funds - maybe too much talk – with funding levels allegedly ranging from 80% to 200%. With the English and Welsh 2025 valuation fast approaching, now is a good time to look at what’s actually happened since the last valuation on 31 March 2022, the estimated position now, and the outlook for the 2025 valuation.
Posted on Monday Oct 21

CDC for the many not the few

Hot on the heels of the launch of the Royal Mail Collective Defined Contribution (CDC) Scheme, the DWP published its consultation on draft regulations for unconnected multi-employer CDC schemes. This is a crucial step in taking CDC from a potential solution for a few large employers to a means of delivering secure and attractive retirement incomes for everyone else. In a previous article, we described the consequences of risk sharing for members. Trustees, providers, legislators and advisers need to be alive to the potential consequences of benefit design decisions.
Posted on Friday Oct 18

Better retirements start with pension planning today

Mark Twain has been credited with the quote “Never put off till tomorrow what may be done the day after tomorrow just as well”. A saying which often applies to the approach many people take in managing their pensions. Aviva’s Working Lives Report (1) has found that one in five employees choose not to think about their finances even though almost three-quarters of employees (73%) said the cost-of-living crisis has made them feel more anxious about them.
Posted on Thursday Oct 17

Final Day for Nominations for the 2024 Actuarial Post Awards

We would like to announce, that after yet another record number of nominations for the Actuarial Post Awards that today is the final day for nominations. We would like to thank you once again for joining us as we continue to celebrate and reward the talent and achievements of individuals in the actuarial arena. With 8 awards to be won, make your nominations here for your colleagues, employees and team. Celebrating Actuarial talent since 2012.
Posted on Wednesday Oct 16

Personal lines motor and home performance predictions

The UK motor and home markets have had a rough time since the Covid-19 pandemic. A combination of supply chain disruption, high inflation, and labour shortages drove the market to significant losses in 2022/23. The rapid hardening of rates since then has attracted government, media and regulatory scrutiny. Against this backdrop, we have projected expected future market performance for each of UK motor and home business, based on data from firms’ SFCR reporting and using market data collected by the ABI.
Posted on Tuesday Oct 15

Stars of the Future 2024 Nominations Closing today at 9PM

Stars of the Future 2024 nominations are closing today at 9PM. Stars of the Future, recognises the new up and coming talent emerging within the actuarial industry. After nominations close, the candidates with the most nominations are short-listed, voting then opens. All short-listed nominees will be recognised in the Stars of the Future issue of our magazine, out in November. Featuring interviews with the top 3 candidates, and the winner appearing on the front cover.
Posted on Monday Oct 14