The IFoA regulates and represents over 30,000 members worldwide, overseeing their actuarial education at all stages of qualification and development throughout their careers. We set examinations, continuing professional development, professional codes and disciplinary standards for our members.
The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries came into being on 1 August 2010 as a result of the merger of the Institute of Actuaries in England and the Faculty of Actuaries in Scotland after members of both bodies voted to merge their respective organisations.
To find out more about what an actuary does please visit our What is an actuary page.
Our purpose
The IFoA’s purpose is ‘To be the voice of actuaries, and to support, develop and be the voice of our members.’
Our values are:
- Member-focused: We put members at the heart of everything we do
- Action-oriented: We work hard, we work smart, and we take pride in getting things done, valuing action over perfection
- Forward- and outward-looking: We’re always looking to be bold and improve, innovate and take the next step
- Team-driven: We work in partnership, advancing together as one IFoA.
Our Royal Charter
Under our Royal Charter we have a duty to regulate the actuarial profession in the public interest. This means that in carrying out our regulatory role, our foremost consideration is what is required to protect the public and how we can ensure that the public has confidence in the work of actuaries. This applies to all of our regulatory roles, for example setting the qualifications and admissions criteria, administering professional standards, developing materials to support and educate about professionalism and compliance with standards, operating a Practising Certificates scheme, investigating complaints about the conduct of members, and operating a disciplinary process.
The IFoA’s 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. We do this by 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.
Our future is shaped by our vision and values and by our long term strategic objectives.
Related documents
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Charter, Bye-laws, Rules and Regulations
5 November 2021 -
Governance Manual of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries
23 June 2020 -
Actuaries' Code v.3.0
18 May 2019
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Contact Details
Jo Jones, Deputy Chief of Staff provides the Secretariat to the Executive Leadership Team
I will try to respond to email queries within five working days.
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Events calendar
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The Growth Mindset for Actuaries
13 October 2021 - 8 December 2021This practical course is aimed at actuaries at any stage of their career who want to develop their own growth mindset and apply it to their work setting and personal or professional lifelong learning. The content of the course builds on the lecture given by Dr Helen Wright on Growth Mindset as part of the President’s 2021 Lecture series, and will be delivered over a period of 2 months, from mid-October to early December.
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Pioneering Roles for Actuaries in Health and Care
29 November 2021
The role of actuaries within the health sector varies considerably from one country to another, due to differences in the local evolution of health systems and the funding models for health services. -
This paper outlines key frameworks for reserving validation and techniques employed. Many companies lack an embedded reserve validation framework and validation is viewed as piecemeal and unstructured. The paper outlines a case study demonstrating how successful machine learning techniques will become and then goes on to discuss implications. The paper explores common validation approaches and their role in enhancing governance and confidence.
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What next for Mental Health in Insurance?
1 December 2021Content will be aimed at all actuaries looking to understand the issues surrounding mental health in insurance and in particular those looking to ensure products and processes widen access for, and are most useful to, those experiencing periods of poor mental health.
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Pensions Winter Forum: Practical aspects of blending annuities and drawdown in retirement
1 December 2021
The IFoA Policy Briefing 'Can we help consumers avoid running out of money in retirement' examined the benefits of blending a lifetime annuity with income drawdown. Panellists, including providers and advisers, will look at the market practicalities of taking the actuarial theory through into the core advice propositions used by IFAs and Fund Managers. They will share a number of practical issues such as investment consequences before and after retirement and the level of annuity that is appropriate and answer questions from the audience. -
Speech from the Governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey
Lincoln's Inn The Treasury Office, London WC2A 3TL1 December 2021
The IFoA is pleased to be hosting the Governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, to deliver a speech on delivering policyholder protection in insurance regulation.
The speech will be presented to an in-person audience, and simultaneously live-streamed, at 14.00 on Wednesday 1st December.
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The Many Faces of Bias
2 December 2021
This webinar looks at the many types of biases, both conscious and unconscious and the impacts they can have in the workplace. Raising our own awareness and understanding of the issues can help us avoid the pitfalls of unconscious bias in particular. We’ve all heard the phrase ‘office banter’ but are we sure that’s how those on the receiving end perceive it and is it ok to go along with it? -
Actuaries need to take action now - but how? With a focus on climate change, this session will provide informed insight to enable you to improve your knowledge and understanding of the issues involved, demonstrate how it will impact advice to your clients, and highlight prospective opportunities for actuaries within pensions and wider fields. -
Pensions Winter Forum: Pension Scams
8 December 2021
Pension scams have become more prevalent as a result of the pandemic, and Trustees have increased responsibilities to protect members, which means that actuaries need to be in a position to provide advice in this area. Our specialist panel will include a professional trustee, an IFA and head administrator, two of whom are members of PASA. -
Sessional Meeting: Allowing for shocks in portfolio mortality models
15 December 2021The covid-19 pandemic creates a challenge for actuaries analysing experience data that includes mortality shocks. To address this we present a methodology for modelling portfolio mortality data that offers local flexibility in the time dimension. The approach permits the identification of seasonal variation, mortality shocks and late-reported deaths. The methodology also allows actuaries to measure portfolio-specific mortality improvements. Results are given for a mature annuity portfolio in the UK
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The Brian Hey Prize 2021 - LocalGLMnet: interpretable deep learning for tabular data
15 December 2021In this webinar, the authors of the 2021 Brian Hey prize winning paper present a new deep learning model called the LocalGLMnet. While deep learning models lead to very competitive regression models, often outperforming classical statistical models such as generalized linear models, the disadvantage is that deep learning solutions are difficult to interpret and explain, and variable selection is not easily possible.
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The dominant underwriting approach is a mix between rule-based engines and traditional underwriting. Applications are first assessed by automated rule-based engines which typically are capable of processing only simple applications. The remaining applications are reviewed by underwriters or referred to the reinsurers. This research aims to construct predictive machine learning models for complicated applications that cannot be processed by rule-based engines.
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Pensions Winter Forum: How to win the pensions endgame
19 January 2022
With the Pension Schemes Act 2021 requiring a long term strategy from Trustees and sponsors, choosing a pensions endgame strategy has become even more critical. However, it is important that the endgame options available are adequately assessed before choosing one. With an ever-increasing array of creative and innovative options available, this decision may not be straightforward.
The role of actuaries within the health sector varies considerably from one country to another, due to differences in the local evolution of health systems and the funding models for health services. 
The IFoA Policy Briefing 'Can we help consumers avoid running out of money in retirement' examined the benefits of blending a lifetime annuity with income drawdown. Panellists, including providers and advisers, will look at the market practicalities of taking the actuarial theory through into the core advice propositions used by IFAs and Fund Managers. They will share a number of practical issues such as investment consequences before and after retirement and the level of annuity that is appropriate and answer questions from the audience.
This webinar looks at the many types of biases, both conscious and unconscious and the impacts they can have in the workplace. Raising our own awareness and understanding of the issues can help us avoid the pitfalls of unconscious bias in particular. We’ve all heard the phrase ‘office banter’ but are we sure that’s how those on the receiving end perceive it and is it ok to go along with it?
Actuaries need to take action now - but how? With a focus on climate change, this session will provide informed insight to enable you to improve your knowledge and understanding of the issues involved, demonstrate how it will impact advice to your clients, and highlight prospective opportunities for actuaries within pensions and wider fields.
Pension scams have become more prevalent as a result of the pandemic, and Trustees have increased responsibilities to protect members, which means that actuaries need to be in a position to provide advice in this area. Our specialist panel will include a professional trustee, an IFA and head administrator, two of whom are members of PASA.
With the Pension Schemes Act 2021 requiring a long term strategy from Trustees and sponsors, choosing a pensions endgame strategy has become even more critical. However, it is important that the endgame options available are adequately assessed before choosing one. With an ever-increasing array of creative and innovative options available, this decision may not be straightforward.