Together we influenced the discussion

Our policy and public affairs work seeks to inform and influence public policy, legislation and regulation to promote decisions and systems that serve the public interest.

Throughout the last year, we continued working with our members to promote the relevance and value that actuaries’ expertise and long-term perspective can add to the understanding and good management of risks across society and over time.

300 attendees came to our virtual launch event for the Great Risk Transfer final report

Published The social care issue – the latest in our Longevity Bulletin series

Members gave evidence at three Select Committee appearances

Published our third Inclusive Insurance Bulletin – Tackling exclusion

Provided over 30 briefings for IFoA external meetings, bilateral meetings with other actuarial bodies, Select Committee appearances and Thought Leadership sessions

Thought Leadership series

In 2021 we embarked on our Thought Leadership programme to help promote innovative thinking, debate and discussion, both within and beyond the actuarial profession.

The programme seeks to reposition the IFoA at the centre of key societal issues, providing a forum and voice for actuaries in addressing pressing social matters and strategic issues confronting the profession. The series aims to unite thought leaders from within the profession, including past IFoA Presidents and senior actuaries, with external policymakers, academics and thinkers, to debate the key issues of our time while engaging and inspiring our audience, whether that be actuaries, politicians, regulators, academics or the public.

Last but not least, our Thought Leadership Programme also adds value to our Vision, Skills, Mindsets and Domains (VSMD) strategy, which calls for a reinvigoration of the profession through the embrace of new cultural values such as curiosity, a growth mindset and continual learning.

Our Thought Leadership Curation Group comprises members of the Presidential Team and the IFoA Executive. The group sets the strategic direction of the Thought Leadership Programme, including sourcing expert speakers and curating event content.

In 2021 our Thought Leadership programme delivered:

individual live events

Over

attendees across the whole programme

average live event audience

speakers, including academics, economists, politicians, regulators, commentators and business leaders, plus thought leaders from within the profession

Attendees from over

countries

Earlier this year, our Thought Leadership Curation Group helped us to develop our ‘Finance in the Public Interest Series 2022’ – our highly successful series of webinars that took place in the spring.

Attendees from

countries

attendees across the series

webinars delivered

expert speakers, including regulators, academics, consultants, investment/insurance specialists, and thought leaders from within the profession (including non-UK based members)

average event audience

The Thought Leadership Curation Group was also integral in helping us devise the keynote plenary sessions at our inaugural IFoA Conference in June.

The group’s input and contribution to the event meant we were able to offer our members the opportunity to hear from prestigious, high-profile speakers, including Paul Johnson and Sir Geoff Mulgan.

"Very engaging and interesting session. The speakers clearly all knew what they were talking about and it was nice to hear views from different areas of political leaning."

Great Risk Transfer

Our Great Risk Transfer (GRT) campaign continued to garner support over the last year as we sought to implement its recommendations.

Input and support from our members and working parties meant we made an impact across a number of different areas, including:

  • Leah Evans, Chair of the IFoA Pensions Board, described the GRT campaign in detail as part of her evidence to the House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee in March 2022 on the impact of the government’s Pension Freedoms reforms five years on.
  • A major consultation on Collective Defined Contribution (CDC) schemes from the Department for Work and Pensions is expected in autumn 2022. The development of CDCs is a key GRT recommendation, and the consultation will be an opportunity for IFoA members to contribute to the detailed design principles for future CDC schemes.
  • The GRT report recommended making defaults for drawing down pension pots (decumulation pathways) available to everyone at retirement. The Pension Decumulation Pathways Working Party presented a substantial report on the scope for products that would offer an alternative to drawdown or annuities by combining a lifetime income with some flexible access.
  • The Scottish Board liaised closely with the David Hume Institute (DHI) on its survey into public attitudes to risk. The DHI has publicly acknowledged the influence of the GRT campaign on this work, with its focus on placing the responsibility for certain financial risks with institutions rather than individuals.
…the pension system couldn't work without actuaries. There are changes and innovation happening within the industry all the time and actuaries are leading that innovation.

Annals of Actuarial Science and British Actuarial Journal

Our actuarial journals advance the body of knowledge of actuarial science and its applications, and promote new research and knowledge transfer: they are a valuable resource for practitioners, academics and policymakers. Our members both contribute papers to the magazine and work on the magazines’ Editorial Boards, helping to ensure that knowledge and learning are shared and transferred.

In 2021/22

  • Annals of Actuarial Science (AAS) received 52 submissions with lead authors from 20 different countries
  • Full text downloads of AAS papers increased by 54% compared with 2020/21
  • To date, AAS papers published during 2020 have been cited 83 times in other academic journal papers – the most citations for a single year’s output AAS has received
  • During 2021, the Editorial Board for AAS was revised and expanded (from 10 Associate Editors to 19) to become more representative of members within the broader diversity of the professional community
  • Full text downloads of British Actuarial Journal articles, which are openly available to all, increased by 30% compared with 2020/21
  • 20 papers and discussions from the IFoA’s Sessional Meeting programme were published during this period

Read the AAS here
Read the BAJ here

YouGov pensions research

In 2016 the IFoA carried out some preliminary research into how individuals were reacting to the new pensions freedoms and flexibilities.

In early 2022 we carried out an updated study with more than 2,000 adults aged over 55, to see whether public attitudes to the reforms had changed in the intervening six years, and to assess the current state of play as to how individuals understand and manage their pensions.

Together with the IFoA Personal Financial Planning Working Party, we analysed the conclusions. These, along with our recommendations, can be found in our report. The findings from this updated study were also used to inform the Work and Pensions Select Committee inquiry, and have been the basis of further collaborative work throughout 2022.

We were delighted to work with Professional Pensions on an exclusive article detailing the research. This was subsequently picked up in Financial Reporter, Pensions Age, Pensions Expert, FT Adviser and Corporate Adviser.

Pensions Age also covered the Work and Pensions Select Committee in March 2022, quoting evidence from Pensions Board Chair, Leah Evans.

The future of UK actuarial regulation

Over the past year, the IFoA’s Regulatory Strategy Steering Group has led the profession’s response to the UK government’s proposed reforms to actuarial regulation.

The Regulatory Strategy Steering Group, composed of Council members and members, has worked in collaboration with IFoA executive colleagues to ensure that the IFoA is the key voice in the debate and that the future regulatory framework for actuaries is effective and proportionate, and serves the public interest.

Highlights of our activity and examples of our influence on the debate include:

  • Responding to the 2021 white paper on Restoring trust in audit and corporate governance
  • Having seven of our recommendations adopted by government in its response to the white paper in May 2022, which will form the basis of forthcoming legislation
  • Engaging with over 15 senior decision-makers and policymakers during the post-consultation period, including influential parliamentarians, regulators, government officials, employers and industry partners
  • Raising our concerns through probing parliamentary questions tabled by members of the House of Lords and highlighting the issue in the UK Parliament during a debate on the Queen’s Speech
  • Issuing targeted briefings to over 30 key parliamentarians to inform the wider debate and the pre-legislative scrutiny process ahead of the expected draft Audit Reform Bill
  • Discussing the implications of the reforms with members at the IFoA Conference in June.

Next page: Together we gained public attention