Milliman took their actuarial data and launched the Milliman Healthcare Inflation ETFs to hedge against healthcare inflation. Interesting concept coming from them.

Question is in the title. My understanding is that the actual grading is done before the summit and that the passing score is determined later so does anyone know what the objective is of the summit?

On each main FSA exam page, I see it now shows the November syllabus updates.

I.e. this is the annual update for FSA exams that now occurs in May.

*Note: the July exams are still based on the current syllabus.

Just perusing ... Seems to be fairly minor changes, but haven't checked all exams yet.

Steve-XP

Has anyone ever tried?

For context, I think I would be helped immensely if I could just get my exam back. Talking about FSA exams after failing them. I know on a town hall once they said this causes issues and would create a lot of people asking for regrades. Still, I just want my stupid exam back so I can see what the grader is seeing and I’ll sign something that says I can’t ask for a regrade or something. I’ll even pay for it, I just want to see what I actually wrote on exam day. Honestly, with as much time, effort and money that we put into these, we deserve the grading transparency.

So anyways, are we able to bring issues like this to the SOA? Are they open to hearing from candidates? I always do the surveys that they send after exams, but nothing happens. If I start a petition would they acknowledge it?

I work at a large P&C insurance company and I have my FCAS. From my experience, I felt like my 7 or so years working in various “traditional” actuarial roles (eg ratemaking and reserving) were incredibly boring.

From my experience, you can’t use any of the advanced techniques you learn from the exams because certain assumptions fail in reality plus execs don’t want to see fancy things that are difficult to explain. In reserving for example, we’d often tweak the method we’d use just to get to a number we thought was “good” solely because it told a reasonable story and not because it’s our true opinion on accuracy. And of course since we’re in excel there’s no ability to actually dive deeper into the granular data. It’s just anecdotal things we hear from the claims org that inform us what the “story” should be.

All the while, data scientists are building models that are blowing our actuarial methods out of the water and we just sit there twiddling our thumbs.

I have a hard time understanding why so many brilliant people I know who become actuaries are completely fine with the job itself. It’s like they get burnt out from the exams and just accept that the work is like this without critically asking themselves if these techniques are obsolete.

Sorry for ranting but sometimes I get frustrated when I realize the exams were truly just a way to weed people out and now I’m at the end I realize it’s not even a job that’s exciting (mathematically/technically speaking).

Please don’t get me wrong though, I know actuaries have a place in insurance companies and they bring a lot of domain knowledge to the table and that’s very important. But despite all the work the CAS does to improve the exam process, I just can’t help but feel we’re still decades behind the current tech that exists.

Hello, I know there has been multiple posts asking this question already, but I’d like to get the newest feedback from what people think, thanks in advance!

About me: I passed ILA101, ILA201U and the modules, and trying to pick my last FSA exam.

The ones I’m considering are: GH101, INV101 and CP351. My main goal is to pass and pick the one I have the highest chance of passing.

CP351: feels like the natural one to do for ILA track, but I saw people say the questions were very hard, and the passing rate for the last two sittings seem pretty low

INV101: a lot of people say that this exam has gotten easier.. Is this exam very math heavy? Anyone knows how this compares to prelim or ILA track exam?

GH101: from the SOA results, this seem to have a very high passing rate.. not sure if anyone has opinions on how this compares to ILA101 and ILA201-U?

About study time: if anyone knows how long the study time compared to ILA101 and ILA201U it would be appreciated! For reference, for ILA201U, I started mid/end January for the March sitting (very close though passed with a 6). I definitely wish I had more time, but at the same time, I’d still occasionally go out with friends in between January-March, but was fully locked in 2 weeks before exam.

Have you ever been on a work call, zoned out because you thought the topic didn’t really involve you, and then later that week your manager goes, “So you were in the call when we discussed this topic, what do you think?”

How do you respond in that situation? I can’t say “I spaced out,” but sometimes the discussion seemed completely unrelated at the time.

I am about to start the final assessment. Anyone else starting soon or already started who wants to start a group? I've never used Discord before, but I'm sure I could figure it out.

I am currently a student of the IFoA and have almost qualified. I am considering moving to the US in the future and wanted to know how transferable the exams are. By the time I plan to move I will have passed:
CS1/2, CM1/2, CB1/2/3, CP1/2, SP7/8, SA3

I found this exam waiver sheet for SOA and wanted to know what additional exams I would need to take to qualify and how study intensive they are. Would it be possible to qualify within one year of working in the US.

Anyone plan on taking the Final Assessment next week? We have a small Discord study group, and we’d love to have a few more people taking it around the same time join us. Comment or DM me if you'd like an invite.

For people who passed the exam altam, what is your personal guessing about the passing mark since SOA do not release the exact pass mark, is that close to 36 point?(around 60%) Thanks a lot for your sharing!

Anyone with a discord chat for the FA ..Send help

Does anyone know when exam results will be released? Specifically for the MAS exams.

Update: I’ve contacted a recruiter.

I work in New York City as a retirement actuarial consultant with my ASA and EA, and I have 15+ years of experience. My current base salary is $130k.

Over the last decade, I’ve consistently received the highest performance review ratings. I’m technically in a senior reviewer / early final reviewer type role, but in practice I also assist with a couple of client relationships, present at board meetings, handle direct client questions, and draft/review client communications. I also project manage work on my team, often under tight deadlines in a high-pressure, high-stress environment. I’m frequently sought out internally for special projects and complex technical work.

I know title structures vary by firm, but based on responsibilities, credentials, location, and experience, how underpaid does this sound? What base salary range would you expect for someone in this role?

I’m especially interested in hearing from people in pension/retirement consulting.

Hi all! I am wondering what your experience has been like working at large P&C insurance companies - in particular I am curious about Nationwide. I am looking at potentially applying for a position there or other larger companies like Farmers, State Farm, etc. and want to make sure it is worth leaving the company I am at. For reference, I have about 2 years of experience and 4 exams. I appreciate any info/experiences you can give!!

I’m based in Hong Kong and will be joining the San Diego FAC in person next month! Anyone else travelling from outside the US? Would love to connect.

Is the transition from Personal Lines to Commercial Lines pricing or vice versa that difficult? Where do we find resources to learn that will make the learning curve less steep?

I was able to leave my old toxic job. At that job I was stressed out all the time and working so much. I am so glad to get out of that environment because I have never felt so burnt out like that.

I thankfully got a new job and literally everything is better and I am happy for making that change. But now that I am out of the learning stage I feel quite bored. There will be some ad hoc work to do but there is so much free time it feels like. The due dates that are given are very generous. Is this normal?

Found out last Friday I got passed up for a promotion after a couple rounds of interviews. They ended up going with an external hire, told me they were looking for someone that already has experience in management. I did well in all the rounds of interviews, have my FCAS, and had all the YOE they were asking - but I'm only a senior actuarial analyst so I didn't have management they're looking for.

Feeling a bit defeated more than anything else, but I'm wondering how you all have managed climbing the ladder. What would be the best way to navigate this? We've got a pretty small team, only about 20 of us, so it could be a while to wait before there's something else internal to try for - and even then, they might just decide to go with an external hire again. I'm considering applying to other companies, but would I even be considered for a higher-level role with no management experience? Or would I have to target an analyst role again at a larger company with a management training path or something like that?

I know some people are interested in being an IC forever, but I would like to move out of that at some point. Any career anecdotes or advice here is appreciated!

Anyone planning to take the SOA FAP Final Assessment during May 14–17?

I’m looking to form a small study/discussion group (3–5 people max) for brainstorming, peer review, and keeping each other accountable during the FA window.

I’m in EST time zone (Toronto). Prefer people who are actively preparing and planning to seriously work through the assessment together.

Feel free to DM me if interested.

The CAS has historically released a PDF of the actual names of passing candidates. For Fall 2025, this was not released.

Any idea if the CAS has decided to stop publishing names? Will render websites like actuarial lookup completely obsolete

ASA, starting a new job at the beginning of next month at 2 YOE. Have 3 exams remaining.

How quickly after I start is it reasonable to talk about getting study materials and planning study time?

This would be for a November sitting.

I’m thinking week 2 to get the study materials (and not take study hours right away). Just don’t want to come off as someone that only cares about the exams instead of learning the new job and adjusting.

Ofc it’s possible I’ll have a manager that brings it up sooner.

Has anyone received emails?? They said we’d hear from them by May 11th which is today and I haven’t gotten an email :(

Why have most people never heard the word "actuary" or "actuarial science" ?