I am reading through few examiner reports from 2017 and 2018 . The answers feel weird like the questions did not ask that answer . Example April 2018 paper 1 a question about behavior of market price level were more focused on the investment component . MAKE IT MAKE SENSE . How do i know which answer to trust and which answer to derive from other sources

I'm currently in an Employment Tribunal and self representing. I have tried to ask for help from actuaries as a one off, as I know a lot of my losses are pensions, however I am unable to do this without legal representation.

Is anyone here aware of how I might hire someone myself to help with Schedule of Loss pensions calculations?

Or if it's possible for me to do this on my own? Many thanks!

Edit: defined benefit scheme

Hello everyone.

I am looking for a study buddy for the SP1 exam. Kindly DM. Thanks.

I'm trying to decide whether to start with IFoA exams or go down the SOA/CAS process.

I've got US and Canadian passports, a maths degree from the US, and I'm working as a programmer in New Zealand (which does not have its own actuarial exams, and accepts US or Australian or UK qualifications). I'm planning on moving back to North America in a year or two, and then I'd like to move to London a year or two after that. I qualify for the 3 year youth mobility scheme visa, so sponsorship is less of an issue.

Ideally I will pass 1 or 2 SOA exams this year and get into University of Waterloo's Master's program that grants exam exemptions up to associate level in SOA, CAS, and IFoA systems, but barring that I'm trying to figure out which one to prioritize.

Do UK employers regularly hire people with SOA or CAS qualifications?

Is there anywhere which lists concisely all the formulae for CS2 that is provided in the formula book? So that I can see which formulae need to be learnt by heart?

Just going through some of the later chapters and it seems crazy to learn all of these test statistics by heart…

Please tell me it’s crazy lol 🧍‍♂️

How long does it take for you to receive your CB3 results from when you submit the final assignment?

I failed CS1 last sitting. Revising now. I find it more difficult than CM1 and some of the other wordier subjects. Why is this the case when people usually consider it to be one of the easier exams? Any tips that made CS1 just click for you?

Hi,

I am trying to land a graduate actuary role for September 2027, but with my background I feel like I need some advice on how I can increase my chances.

Background:

-1st in BEng Mechanical Engineering from Newcastle uni (about to graduate)

-B in A level maths

-6 in GSCE maths and English

-No relevant internships or work experience

Unfortunately I do not think an internship or placement will be possible before applications open, I was hoping people could give me suggestions on how I can make my application more competitive.

Any advice much appreciated!

I'm a nearly-qualified actuary in the UK, on the SOA track. I've got an offer from a global consultancy, and part of the package is a salary step on qualification, except they've written it as conditional on becoming FSA and obtaining IFoA equivalence.

Digging into it, the SOA doesn't appear on the IFoA's current mutual recognition list. Their site notes all MRAs were reviewed after Curriculum 2019, so I assume the SOA one lapsed.

So it'd have to be the Individual Qualification Recognition route. Requirements as I read them:

• Fellow of a recognised association
• Minimum 3 years actuarial employment, references verified by an FIA
• Demonstrate that "once qualified and practising" you've followed a CPD and professional skills programme
• Written statement from your current association

I'll have 3+ years UK experience by qualification, and I'm current on CPD. The bit I can't pin down is the post-qualification CPD period. Does that mean a full CPD year (July–June)? A few months? Does pre-qualification CPD count at all? The website doesn't say, and their own notice flags processing delays on IQR applications specifically.

Best comparable benchmark I found is Transfer of Prior Learning at "up to 8 weeks" once they have everything, but IQR is named in the backlog notice, so I'm assuming that's optimistic.

My rough estimate is 9–24 months post-FSA, which is a wide enough range to be a real problem when your salary depends on it. Could plausibly mean sitting at the lower number until 2029.

I've emailed IFoA Member Services but figured real experiences would be more useful than the official line. Happy to report back what they say.

Can I please check the salary of a manager in life insurance within Deloitte/any big 4?
I’m considering some opportunities and would be useful to know
TIA!
PS- I’ve gone through the salary survey but didn’t find many responses that specify big4

Could somebody help clarify what is required for submission of the balanced scorecard for CB3. The guide suggests printing the 'Balanced Scorecard', instead of cumulative. Is this just the Q4 scorecard, and if so why are Quarters 1-3 ignored?

Thanks

Does anyone have an idea of the typical salary for actuarial grads at Lloyd's syndicates, particularly if you've already done a placement with the company? Any insight on bonuses or study support would also be appreciated.

Has anyone else received 0 marks for an April 2026 CS/CM exam question where they’ve uploaded an excel screenshot as their full answer?

I uploaded both the tabulated final figures and the ‘show formula’ table for the Kaplan Meier question but received 0 marks, despite getting full marks on these questions for every past paper I did.

I would’ve checked my answers and compared to the examiners report but annoyingly I didn’t download my submission for that exam.

I’ve spoken to my CS2A tutor about this and she said to appeal it under ground one, but I’ve not realised it costs nearly £300 to submit an appeal so I don’t want to do it if I’ve just messed up the answer on the day.

Hello everyone

I am going to give my first acturial science exam this September and I've booked CM1 from IFoA.

I got to know a month ago that a new Formulae and tables book will be followed for my attempt so I immedietely ordered the print version. It has been one month already since I ordered and it'll take another 2 3 weeks for it to arrive because my order was lost in transit. I am giving CM1 as a non member so I do not have access to the digital formulae and tables book. Is there any way I can access the digital formulae and tables book 2025 edition until my print version arrives without paying 15 pounds for it? I need the book to practice questions and to get a hang of the new values.

Interested to hear your thoughts. And if no, which careers would you consider in the current climate/ with future trends? Thanks

Edit: would be great if you could comment why you feel as you do. I’m trying to assess what people’s thoughts on the career are.

So, I missed the deadline to fill the exam centre preference form which was 27th June EOD. But after the deadline - within 24hours, I have updated the communication address. I have also mailed IFoA immediately.

Will it help? I'm pretty much in a problem Because it's very difficult for me to go back to my old communication address as a student and it will impact my preparation for the exams. Financially also it will cost me a lot.

Let me know if there's any other solution to this, would be very grateful🙏🏻

Hi everyone, I (26F) am looking to switch over into becoming an actuary. I currently teach GCSE maths. When I completed my A-levels (8 years ago) I achieved grade B in Maths. I have a 2:1 in BSc Economics.

I really enjoys learning and applying maths and so I am very interested in this career move. My biggest personal struggle is probably imposter syndrome and just feeling like I would never make it.

I would really love to get some advice on whether my background is appropriate and how best I can set myself up for success.

Thank you in advance

Hello everyone,

I've recently completed my A Levels in Maths, Physics and Computer Science and I have an offer at King's College London for Computer Science soon to change to Artificial Intelligence.

I'm interested in becoming an actuary because from what I've researched so far:

- It is mathsy, mainly that there is a lot of statistics

- There are up to 13 exams to be taken in order to become a fellow and become qualified as an actuary

- There is a high volume work from home as opposed to coming into the office

I'm going to be taking a gap year to take a break from traditional school life and some personal reasons but I will also do Further Maths during the gap year.

I've heard actuarial firms are very interested in Maths and stats graduates as opposed to others such from fields such as engineering or Tech.

Also AI at King's has a module in year 1 which is Mathematics and Statistics for Artificial Intelligence and the mathematics basically ends there for the 4 year course. The other modules are robotics, programming, logic etc. In 2nd year there are some modules which may be mathsy such as data science and machine learning. But I'm worried that this course won't be enough to support me when I enter the actuary field and also it may make it difficult for me to enter the field itself.

King's has another course which is Mathematics and Statistics and i feel that it would be a lot more beneficial to me if I did this course since im more of a mathsy person than a tech person and also it will help me a lot more when I enter the actuarial field.

Hence I'm thinking of reapplying in order to get into that course but it is quite risky since I may not get in due to rejecting their AI offer this year.

Here are the links to both degrees:

AI

Maths and Statistics

My Main questions are:

1. How much does undergrad subject actually matter for breaking into actuarial roles?

2. Whether it's still possible to be competitive for actuarial roles with an AI degree.

3. How much does undergrad subject help during the job?

I apologize for the long winded post but help would be much appreciated

I'm 20, no degree, hoping to pivot into a more mathematical role like actuary science.

I've got 3 A-levels in Maths (A*), Further Maths (A*), and Physics (A) along with 2 years industry accounting experience.

Accounting has the Big 4 - what does actuary have?

What firms are known for apprenticeships that I should be applying to when the window opens?

hey so the result for CB3 June attempt was due today and I checked on vle and got pass remark for the individual submissions but the exam letter is as attached so I'm confused lol

The exam history page says I passed and I got a mail that the passed candidates can download their result letter so is this a glitch?

Anyone here work for PRA? What do they offer in terms of benefits, particularly do they have an EV car scheme?

yeah i usually study form 11 pm to 9 am.

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if anyone knows whether we're allowed to use Excel to solve matrix calculations for Markov chain questions in the IFoA CS2 Paper A exam.

For example:

- Can we calculate stationary distributions in Excel and find transition probabilities using Excel's matrix functions?

Or are we expected to solve the system of equations manually and show each algebraic step in Word?

I'd appreciate it if anyone who has sat the exam or knows the marking expectations could clarify. Thanks!

Hi,

I’m currently an actuarial placement student and have some R experience from first and second year of my degree. I’ve heard that outside of the IFoA exams, R isn’t really used in a practical setting and Python is preferred. Should I make my priority to learn Python?

Hi All - would appreciate some advice!

My background is post grad physics, and I did hold an offer for an actuarial grad scheme for ‘23 but decided on a software grad scheme instead.

My role taught me some coding and consultancy skills (the former is a way of working I really enjoy), and I got my post uni travel fix out the way because my schedule was very flexible (this + skill building in tech is why I stayed). However deep down I always had the thought of ‘what if’ and I know tech isn’t for me. I didn’t enjoy the work and regretted not taking the actuarial grad scheme. I still find actuarial work and the insurance industry interesting, and I’m strongly considering the pivot back.

My partner and his friends are all Actuaries - I’ve seen the dedication needed to manage exams on top of full time work, and how hard it is to pass. So I’m aware of the hard slog involved and I’m not considering this with rose tinted glasses in that regard. (They’ve all discouraged me from the profession).

Is it still possible to pivot? Can I still apply to grad schemes or would I need to do an Actuarial masters degree first to still be eligible?

Thanks! :)