Personal and Professional Development FAQs

PPD stands for Personal and Professional Development and it is the practical work experience requirement that all students must complete alongside their exams. To become an Associate or Fellow you need to successfully complete PPD as well as the IFoA examinations and professionalism components.

A PPD year is the unique date that your PPD runs from and to. The date is calculated from your joining date so is different for all students. It is your responsibility to complete your PPD each year by the deadline date. For example if you joined the IFoA on 1 April then your PPD year will run from 1 April to 31 March and you must have completed your records by midnight (GMT) on 31 March.

From January 2019, all students who have not become an Associate or Fellow need to start recording their PPD. PPD replaces the pre 2004 work experience requirements.

The accredited employer scheme is being replaced by PPD and will be phased out by January 2021. If you work or have previously worked for an accredited employer, you may still submit your accredited employer form when you come to qualify to count towards your total 36 months of practical work experience requirement. You are not able to qualify solely on your accredited employer form as all students should have started recording PPD from September 2018.

You are required to record a minimum number of PPD credits and formal learning hours whilst you are a student member of the IFoA. The minimum amount per year is 3 credits and 2 formal learning hours.

When you have completed all the required examinations and professionalism components you will need to ensure you have recorded the following PPD requirements: Associate: minimum of 10 credits and 2 formal learning hours over the course of 12 months. Fellow: minimum of 20 credits and 6 formal learning hours over the course of 3 years (minimum of 2 hours per year).

If you joined the IFoA after 2 January 2019 the PPD requirements are as follows: Associate (must be obtained before progression to Fellow): minimum of 15 credits and 2 formal learning hours over the course of 24 months (minimum of 2 hours per year). Fellow: minimum of 5 additional credits and 2 formal learning hours over the course of 12 months.

You need to ensure you have the minimum amount of work experience recorded across both schemes i.e. 36 months for Fellow and 12 months for Associate. You should pro-rata the review questions (WBS) and credits (PPD) depending on the amount of months you are submitting e.g. 2 years WBS and 1 year PPD will require 8/12 review questions and 7/20 credits. 1 year WBS and 2 years PPD will require 4/12 review questions and 14/20 credits. Please see the transition pages for more information.

If you need to record a PPD exemption you should contact the IFoA to inform us of your situation as soon as possible. Students cannot record exemptions themselves and it is your responsibility to inform the IFoA if you cannot meet your annual PPD requirements. Exemptions can only be recorded for specific reasons such as parental leave, unemployment, further education, career breaks etc.

The IFoA conducts PPD audits each month to ensure the quality and standard of PPD is maintained. You may be selected for a PPD audit at any time during your student journey. You should keep evidence of how you met the competencies and any discussions you have had with your supervisor until you qualify. The IFoA may ask you for this as part of your PPD audit and may contact your supervisor to confirm the accuracy of your records.

All students will need a manager or supervisor to discuss their PPD records with. They do not need to be a qualified Actuary. The IFoA may contact your supervisor who is supporting your work experience to confirm the accuracy of your records. You may have more than one manager or supervisor to support you in achieving the different objectives and competencies but they must not be a friend or relative to avoid any conflict of interest. You should discuss your submissions with your supervisor as part of your professional development and record on each submission that you have discussed it with them. Please keep the contact details of your supervisors throughout your PPD journey as they may be requested by the IFoA before you qualify.

If you are self-employed then you will still be able to complete the PPD requirements but you need to make the IFoA aware of this in order that appropriate support can be provided. We will ask you to complete an additional form to record your working contracts so we can ensure you have met the minimum amount of work experience.

You may cover some of the objectives and competencies of PPD while you undertake work that is confidential or commercially sensitive. In these cases, if you are unable to fully describe how you have met these competencies, please include as much detail of the activity and learning experience as possible and note the reason for any gaps in your submission. Our reviewers may confirm this with your supervisor so please ensure you have discussed this with them before submitting your PPD.

If you are changing jobs you should complete PPD as usual for both your existing and new employment. You need to make sure that you have discussed your PPD with your supervisor before you leave as we may follow up any queries with your submissions with them. You should also keep their contact details. If you are having a break in employment between your 2 roles, you may contact us to record an exemption if you are not able to meet the minimum PPD requirements for that year.

As part of the audit process the IFoA will identify those students who have not completed the minimum amount of PPD and will contact them. It is your responsibility to keep your PPD and contact details updated.

If you have transferred to Associate and don’t intend on studying for Fellowship, you will need to contact us so we can update your record making you exempt from PPD. You will not be able to book or sit any IFoA exams.

Depending on the amount of time since you qualified as an Associate and the work you have been doing since qualifying will depend on how much PPD you need to complete. You should contact us to discuss your individual requirements and to allow us to update your records so you can record your PPD and book onto examinations.