Pensions - Articles - Opportunities for Pensions Actuaries

 For many, the obvious home for a pensions actuary might be amongst the long-established pensions advisory practices, specialising purely in pensions work, advising trustees in the main.

 But in recent years, alternatives have emerged including investment banks, insurance companies looking to "buy-out" pension liabilities and boutique advisory firms. However, of all the alternatives perhaps the most significant are the large accountancy firms, such as KPMG, which have built up substantial pension advisory practices.

 Indeed here at KPMG, such is the significance of our pensions practice that our "Tax" practice, which represents around a third of the UK business, was renamed "Tax and Pensions" in the middle of last year Alastair McLeish, himself an actuary, was appointed head of the Tax and Pensions practice.

 Today, the pensions advisory practice at KPMG generates revenues of over £70 million.  And despite having enjoyed five successive years of double digit growth, the accelerator remains firmly pressed to the floor with a target of reaching revenues of £100 million and beyond in the next three years. This growth is driven by client needs and the increasing materiality of pensions risk for many UK companies.

 Over the same five years headcount has risen from around 250 people to in excess of 400.  We aim to continue this rapid growth.  The team covers the full range of pensions and investment advice, with a particular focus on providing innovative and commercial solutions to sponsors and trustees of the UK's largest pension arrangements.
  

 So what can an accountancy firm offer a pensions actuary in career terms?

 As well as the opportunity to be part of a thriving and growing pensions advisory team, one of the key benefits of working for a big professional services firm such as KPMG is the opportunities to work with other professionals in the wider firm. The advantages this offers are twofold: by tapping into the skills of other practices we can provide pension solutions that other consultancies cannot (eg our innovative approach to asset-backed funding for pensions was developed in conjunction with the wider Tax practice), Of course we are also able to work with clients across a range of issues, not just in pensions. 

 In the pensions team, we may therefore be helping our colleagues in corporate finance working on an M&A deal where there is a pensions issue.  We may be brought in as part of a general advisory project, or alongside colleagues in Tax.  As a firm we are part of a team working with a client on issues broader than just a single pensions project.  This adds an extra dimension of interest to a project as we see how our colleagues are tackling different challenges to the clients and it also brings us more into a general "business advisory" role, which is of great personal benefit.

 For someone at the beginning of their career, working in a large firm like KPMG can present tremendous opportunities to move around and develop quickly as a business adviser.  Currently, we employ around 11,000 people in the UK and across our worldwide network, we have almost 140,000 professionals.  Secondments to other parts of the firm, to clients or to overseas offices are regularly available and many people at KPMG take advantage of these to broaden their experience and skills base.

 And from our clients' perspective, we are increasingly finding that today businesses are demanding truly rounded commercial advice on pensions issues.  They need us to be able to see their pensions issues in the context of the rest of the challenges their business faces and their ultimate objectives.  There is no better example of how we have done this than through the fully joined up investment funding and covenant advice we have given to clients. The breadth of experience available across KPMG is extremely complementary to the depth of knowledge we can offer as professional actuaries.

 But don't just take my word for it.  Here's what some of our actuaries have to say:

 
 CASE STUDIES

 Name - Becky

 Current position - Consultant in the London corporate pensions team at KPMG

 What year did you join KPMG? And at what level?

 2006, as a graduate.  I then spent three years training as an actuary at KPMG and I am now a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries.

 How do you find working at KPMG?

 It's a good place to work.  We work hard but there are a lot of opportunities and the work is very varied from day to day or week to week.  I find I'm working on new projects all the time.

 Is working at KPMG what you expected?

 It feels like 2006 was a long time ago so it's hard to remember what I expected!  I'd been on an internship in KPMG's audit practice before I joined the firm.  I knew I liked KPMG but I wasn't sure audit was for me.  The corporate pensions team feels like a good fit.

 How in your view does it differ from working at a "traditional" pensions actuary?

 KPMG is my only experience of working in pensions but from speaking to others (for example, the many who have joined us from traditional firms) I feel that the variety of the work we do is a major difference between what we do and the role of a "traditional" pensions actuary.  We don't just do technical calculations-based work.  The qualification is useful and it's a pre-requisite for my role but in my day to day working life I find that I use other skills just as much as my actuarial technical expertise.  For example, I've just completed a large project where I was mainly project managing a member communications process for one of our clients. On this I was regularly liaising with contacts at the client, dealing directly with members and preparing communication materials. I am also quite heavily involved now in supporting junior members through the team through study support and helping them develop their careers here through training programmes.  I'm also involved on the business development side of the practice, where we gather and then share knowledge of specific areas and consulting issues across the practice.

 Because we are a large practice in a large firm, there is the flexibility to play to our skills and become a more rounded adviser.  I feel more like we are "consultants" than "actuaries" most of the time.  The variety of work also means you come into contact with clients a lot more than I think you would at a traditional firm. You also often get to work alongside our colleagues for example in implementing salary sacrifice arrangements or on employee tax issues.  

 What are your ambitions for the future?

 I hope my career will continue to be interesting and diverse. I think KPMG is the best place to do that.

 Anything else relevant you'd like to mention?

 There's a lot going on in corporate pensions at the moment and this looks set to continue for a while longer. We don't just carry on doing the same thing day in day out.  We're very much focussed on trying to come up with new solutions to the problems that pensions often create for corporate clients. 

 
 Name - Nick

 Current position - Partner in the Investment Advisory team in KPMG's Leeds office, leading the Investment Advisory team in the North.

 What year did you join KPMG? And at what level?

 2005, as a senior manager, after spending ten years working at one of the "traditional" pensions actuaries.

 How do you find working at KPMG?

 I really enjoy it.  KPMG has invested massively in me to develop my career - in terms of training offered and also the time that people have been able to spend with me to help me develop. I made partner in October last year which was a key ambition for me.  Although KPMG is a massive firm, we still have the feel of a small entrepreneurial business where your individual efforts can really make a difference.

 Is working at KPMG what you expected?

 When I joined KPMG after ten years at one of the more traditional pensions actuaries, I was hoping that there would be more of a true "partnership" culture here and I most certainly found that to be the case so it met my expectations in a good way there.  I was a little concerned that the work would be relentless and that there would be enormous pressure to bring in new business as my remit was to help grow the practice.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that, although we work hard, it's manageable and it's possible to have a good work / life balance.  And on the new business front, I found that the only real "selling" there was to do was to demonstrate to colleagues here how our team can help their clients which wasn't a very difficult task.  After this, the introductions came flooding in and a large amount of the work we win is still from existing clients or contacts of the wider KPMG firm.

 How in your view does it differ from working at a "traditional" pensions actuary?

 The big difference is the power of the KPMG network in terms of the number and diversity of clients we are involved with as a firm.  This means that our team is brought in to help a wide range of colleagues in different parts of the business because it means that our clients get a better all round service from us as a firm.  In a traditional firm you might only see the pension fund.  Here we see the whole business and the pension fund issues in a wider commercial context.

 What are your ambitions for the future?

 When I joined I was totally focused on making partner.  I've done that now and I see huge opportunities still ahead in terms of continuing to grow the investment advisory practice by bringing in the best people to help more clients.

 What advice would you give to an aspiring pensions actuary starting out today?

 Think really really hard about the direction your career is likely to take you.  Defined benefit schemes are in decline so if your training is too narrow and restricts you purely to this area, you could be a bit limited.  This is where working in a wider firm can give you more flexibility.  The actuarial qualification is most definitely valuable but you need wider experience to complement it.

 Anything else relevant you'd like to mention?

 We're recruiting hard at KPMG and we're ambitious.  But one of the biggest limitations to our growth is finding the right people so if you feel you like what you've read about us then get in touch:

 
 Name - Steve

 Current position - Associate consultant in the London corporate pensions team.

 What year did you join KPMG? And at what level?

 August 2010 in my current position having begun my training at one of the traditional actuaries.  I'm just coming to the end of my actuarial exams now.

 How do you find working at KPMG?

 I find the work really interesting and engaging.  I prefer it to the predominantly trustee work that I was doing before as it's all corporate work here.  At KPMG we do work with a lot of trustees but my team is focussed on corporates.

 I find working with corporate clients more demanding and faster paced than working with the trustees in my old firm.  Our clients work very hard themselves and expect the same from their advisers.  As the pension issues have a very real impact on the clients' businesses, they take a very close interest in them.

 Is working at KPMG what you expected?

 Yes in terms of the actual work: it's more intense but much more interesting than my previous position, which is what I thought it would be.  I was less certain about what to expect in terms of the team and colleagues here but I have been really pleasantly surprised by how sociable and friendly everyone is.

 How in your view does it differ from working at a "traditional" pensions actuary?

 As mentioned above, the key difference for me is in the clients I work with.  Here I work exclusively for corporates.  This means that I get really involved with clients and I'm given the freedom and trust to go to meet clients and take projects forward under my own initiative - not just stuck in the office crunching numbers.

 What are your ambitions for the future?

 I've only been at KPMG six months and my focus is very much on getting through my last exams and working my way up within KPMG.  Pensions is a key growth area for the firm and there are lots of opportunities for progression available for those prepared to go for it, demonstrated by the prevalence of relatively young people in senior positions here.

 What advice would you give to an aspiring pensions actuary starting out today?

 I'm just at the beginning of my career but what I am trying to do is to develop as broad a range of skills as possible.  The actuarial qualification is useful I believe but not the be all and end all.  As defined benefit schemes decline, I think it will be important to be able to give a broad range of advice to companies on their pensions issues beyond purely actuarial analysis.

 Anything else relevant you'd like to mention?

 Not now - I have to go and swot up for my next exam!