What life actuaries really care about - and how you can retain them

What’s important to actuaries in the workplace? Why do they change roles? And how can insurers keep hold of them? We recently surveyed nearly 200 professionals employed in the UK life actuarial market to understand their current workplace attitudes. They identified career development, compensation and variety in their work as their three main challenges. Let’s take a look at each of them in more detail and discuss how employers can retain their actuarial talent.

1. Development needs to be constant

We know from our daily conversations that actuarial professionals are concerned about their personal development, especially if they’re starting out in their careers. Indeed, 33% of actuaries rank limited career progression as their number one challenge, out of a possible six options – so it’s pretty unsurprising that career development opportunities are the most important motivator for 16% when considering a new role.

For any actuary, their journey doesn’t pause when they join a new business and at the same time, the hiring company’s job isn’t finished when they bring a new actuary onboard. You need to give your actuaries a transparent growth path, showing them their promotion pathways and signposting key milestones, all of which need to be tied into their objectives.

To help them progress along that path, talk to them about where they want to upskill and offer them the development opportunities they need. 71% of actuaries feel data science, advanced analytics and AI integration skills will be the most in-demand over the next five years, as AI and advanced analytics continue to reshape pricing, underwriting and risk management. 55% are also looking to upskill in exciting growth areas like bulk purchase annuity (BPA) and pension de-risking.

This isn’t just about developing your people. It’s about showing them that there’s a future with your business, and that you’re even ready to support their future beyond.

2. Pay them how much they’re worth

Over the last year, we’ve really noticed how much actuaries are aware of their market value, which has led to rising salary expectations. This is particularly true at the in-demand part-qualified and newly qualified level. 27% of actuaries say that compensation and benefits are their biggest challenge and 78% put it in their top three. Accordingly, when it comes to considering a new role, salary and benefits are just as high on the priority list as you’d expect them to be. 48% say they’re the most important consideration and 92% put them in their top three – reaffirming that remuneration is a significant consideration for virtually every actuary in the life insurance industry.

When you break it down by seniority, qualified actuaries are more likely to prioritise salary, seeing it as recognition of their expertise and responsibility, and expecting it to scale accordingly as they advance in their career. More junior actuaries are generally less pay-driven, focusing more on support and exposure. Either way, it’s essential that your remuneration is in line not just with your competitors, but also with growing areas like BPA and de-risking, which offer enticing opportunities for many actuaries working in life insurance. If you want to keep them in the industry, keep them well rewarded.

3. Variety is the spice of actuarial life

While it’s the top challenge for only 6% of respondents, variety is in the top three for 57%. In fact, their desire to gain exposure to different areas of work is strong enough to make many actuaries seek a new role, with 44% selecting it in their top three reasons for moving.

Keep the role fresh by offering your actuaries secondment programmes and rotational opportunities across business lines, exposing them to different parts of the business, broadening their experience and widening their skills. We know this kind of experience is especially important to junior respondents who are looking to expand their understanding of how the organisation works and increase their profile in the process. At the same time, help them keep up to date with the latest technologies by training them in AI and software such as R, Python and VBA.

An employer’s relationship with its people needs to be truly symbiotic, and ensuring your actuaries have some variety in their day-to-day role will be of huge benefit to you both. For your actuaries, they get the chance to enjoy their everyday role while learning constantly, all in the knowledge that you’re genuinely invested in them. For your organisation, you get a more skilled, rounded and versatile workforce that will repay your investment in them with their loyalty.

Conclusion: three simultaneous steps to talent retention

The actuarial profession is changing all the time and actuaries want to know that they’re always growing. By offering them a tailored development path, training in the latest technologies and exposure to other areas of the business, you can provide the progression and variety they crave – but it needs to be underpinned by a remuneration package that both reflects their value to the business, and deflects the potential attraction of other exciting areas of insurance.

If you need more advice on keeping your actuarial talent or you’re an actuarial professional looking for your next opportunity in the life insurance industry, contact our life actuarial team to find out how we can help.

These insights are derived from our Life Actuarial UK Workplace Attitudes Survey. If you’d like to find out more about what’s important to actuaries in the workplace, you can request a download of our report here.