Name: Matthew Wood
Employer: Towers Perrin
Job title: Actuarial Analyst
University: University of Southampton
Subject: BSc Mathematics with Actuarial
Studies
I studied Maths with Actuarial Studies at
University. At an early stage I knew that
entering the actuarial profession was a likely
career path, but my degree course did leave
me with other options. I wanted to become an
actuary because I liked the idea of applying
mathematics to business issues. I also wanted
to use my problem-solving skills as well as
gain a respected professional qualification.
I took a ten week internship during my
second year, working in a small team on
pension scheme wind-ups, to confirm that
actuarial work was what I really wanted to
do. This gave me a good introduction to the
kind of work I could expect in a permanent
actuarial position and I was also able to get
to grips with the large amount of legislation
and terminology that is used in the pension
industry.
Towers Perrin is a global actuarial and
Human Resources consultancy. I work in the
Employee Benefit Services practice on all
aspects of pension schemes: advising trustees
and preparing funding valuation reports;
completing member calculations; advising
corporate bodies on pension commitments;
completing funding and scheme redesigns;
developing accounting disclosures under
local and international standards; preparing
accounting disclosures for share option
schemes; and modelling performance
conditions for employee benefit awards (such
as performance shares).
Many projects have tight deadlines, so great
teamwork and planning is needed to ensure we
deliver the project to the client on time. A lot
of work follows a similar process across the
board, but some projects can prove to be more
interesting and challenging, requiring new
input and ideas. One of the more interesting
projects I have been working on is an ongoing
deferred transfer value exercise. This
initially involved several weeks developing
a model, valuing members' benefits and
providing a template of information to the
client. Developing models has proved to
be interesting, and allows you to use your
analytical skills, judgement and initiative. It
is great that as an Actuarial Analyst my ideas
and new approaches are encouraged, even
though it can take time to become familiar
with all of the legislation.
Ongoing queries from the client meant we
had regular work to do valuing different
groups of members with special benefits and
complications. I became the main point of
contact for the client, dealing with new work
on this task going forward and getting to
understand the intricacies of the plan. I have
regular phone contact with the client and IFA
and an increasing amounts of responsibility
for the project. I hope to be involved in more
large projects such as this in the future, as it
is a good way of taking on responsibility and
developing my technical skills.
Of course as well as having to cope with
work, there is the studying aspect of gaining
the professional qualification. Towers Perrin
provides great support and incentives to pass
the exams and the importance of studying is
recognised by colleagues across the office,
who are all supportive of my studies. There
are several students at all levels within the
office, so there is always someone to discuss
any concerns with. Passing the exams does
require dedication and sacrifice during
certain times of the year, but a great sense of
achievement comes with passing each exam!
PDF downloads:
Login to Top Employers 