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October 2025 Edition of the Actuarial Post Magazine

Congratulations to the Red Roses in winning the Women’s Rugby World Cup final by defeating Canada 33-13 and whilst we are dishing out the plaudits a huge well done to The European team in winning the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, despite the partisan ‘heckling’. Rachel Reeves has given her Labour conference speech ahead of the Autumn Budget where she spent most of the day fending off question on tax rises, with a projected £30 billion shortfall the need for extra funding seems clear, however, where the tax rises will appear will remain open to conjecture until the Budget is announced.
Posted on Friday Oct 3

Summers over so now is the time for investors to refocus

Whilst most of us will take a break over summer and try to “de-tune” out of work, markets were quite the opposite and decided not to take a holiday at all this year! While headlines cheered record highs in equities and gold, the underlying picture has grown more uncomfortable: weaker growth, stickier inflation, and gilt yields at multi-decade highs. In a world where equities, bonds and even safe-haven currencies can all fall together, investors need to be more selective than ever.
Posted on Thursday Oct 2

Pensions dashboards time to think to the future

Pensions dashboards have received plenty of press coverage and LGPS Fund Officers are well aware of the need to connect to the eco-system by 31 October 2025. By now you should have decided on your Integrated Service Provider (ISP) and be making sure the matching data you will use is accurate enough to get your Fund over the line and ready for when those initial queries come in. Now isn't the time to rest on our laurels. Going forward, you might want to expand the selection of matching data you’re willing to use.
Posted on Wednesday Oct 1

A Silver Bullet for Private Investment and Climate Action

Recent policy developments — including the Mansion House Accord, which targets 10% allocation to private markets with at least 5% in UK assets — have reignited debate around the role of pension schemes in supporting domestic investment. Much of the focus has been on the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) and large Master Trusts. However, there is a unique and timely opportunity for the Treasury and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to unlock a broader wave of investment from Defined Benefit (DB) schemes.
Posted on Tuesday Sep 30

Underwriting strategy in practice

In last month’s article, we explored the future of underwriting and pricing in the London Market, including the role of tech and automation as well as the importance of maintaining a strong reputation and clear communication with the broking market. This month, we move from what to aim for to how to get there. We set out practical frameworks for articulating and managing underwriting strategy over time, and for navigating the common blockers that can derail even the best-intentioned plans.
Posted on Monday Sep 29

Reimagining pensions and the conditions for innovation

Dr Marion Lean reflects on The Pensions Regulator’s second innovation event and the co-creation of seven design principles to guide innovation in workplace pensions. She explores how TPR is using design-led approaches like co-design and hackathons to foster creativity, collaboration and user-centred thinking across the industry. With over 50 leaders in attendance, the recent event marked another bold step towards building a more inclusive, transparent and future-focused pensions system.
Posted on Friday Sep 26

Delivering value in defined contribution

Over the last decade, we have seen a significant shift in the defined contribution (DC) pension industry in the UK. The DC market has consolidated: own trust pension schemes have been in decline (and to a lesser extent contract-based schemes too), with Master Trusts emerging as the main beneficiaries. Today, around 3 in 10 employers (28%) provide pension plans using a master trust arrangement and, with government policy aiming to enable a small number of DC megafunds, this momentum towards consolidation is only likely to grow.
Posted on Thursday Sep 25

5 steps to improving your pension scheme’s cyber security

The disruption to businesses and consumers from recent cyber-attacks such as those affecting Jaguar Land Rover, M&S and the Co-op highlight the increasing sophistication and frequency of these attacks. We were not surprised that trustees continued to rank cyber security and AI as the systemic risk that worried them most in our DB pensions priorities 2025 survey. We have increasingly seen a shift in trustees’ mindsets to “when”, rather than “if” so it’s pleasing to see that respondents to our survey also felt more prepared to address cyber risk in 2025 when compared to the previous year.
Posted on Wednesday Sep 24

Pensions Commission must provide better retirement reforms

Millions risk being condemned to retirement poverty unless the UK’s pensions system is overhauled, PensionBee has warned, as it calls on the Pensions Commission to deliver bold reforms to tackle deep-rooted structural inequalities. In a letter to the Commission, they highlight how women, unpaid carers, the self-employed and lower-paid workers are being locked out of the progress achieved through Auto-Enrolment, while many others are being held back by a pensions market that is too complex and sluggish to navigate.
Posted on Tuesday Sep 23

How to get more value from your Actuarial Function Reports

The Actuarial Function Report (AFR) is key for meeting regulatory standards and reassuring Boards and stakeholders. However, the time spent on these reports can limit actuaries' ability to offer practical business insights. In this paper, we discuss practical ideas for transforming the AFR into a tool that not only meets regulatory expectations but also enhances the Board’s understanding of business risks, performance and opportunities.
Posted on Monday Sep 22

Final Day for Nominations for Stars of the Future 2025

We would like to announce, that after yet another record number of nominations for Stars of the Future 2025, sponsored by Star Actuarial Futures, today is the final day for nominations. After nominations close, the candidates with the most nominations will be short-listed, voting then opens. All short-listed nominees will be recognised in the Stars of the Future issue of our magazine, out in November. Featuring interviews with the top 3 candidates, and the winner appearing on the front cover.
Posted on Friday Sep 19

The growing risk of wildfires in the UK

As the UK goes through a cycle of heatwaves that are expected to become the ‘norm’ in the not too distant future , wildfires, often thought of as a problem of countries with warmer climates, are now a real and growing risk in the UK. 2022 was a record wildfire year until 2025. In 2022, 983 wildfires in England and Wales met one or more of the National Fire Chief Council’s (NFCC) strict criteria for a wildfire; the fire involved a geographical area of at least one hectare (10,000 square metres)
Posted on Thursday Sep 18

How to save on risk lines using analytics

Shield your organization both from unnecessary costs and insurance shortfalls. Risk analytics can help you drive optimized risk retention, insurance limits and deductibles. If you’re under pressure to find cost savings, you may be asked to cut spend on specific risk lines. Risk managers who do this may see their organizational stock rise in the short-term, only for it to crash if they leave the business facing insurance shortfalls if there’s a claim.
Posted on Wednesday Sep 17

The continued outlook for the bulk purchase annuity market

The bulk purchase annuity (BPA) market has demonstrated remarkable resilience despite shifting economic conditions. Demand remains strong, but the continued focus on regulatory developments and evolving longevity expectations will require insurers to stay agile in 2025. 2024 sustained the momentum from the previous year, with a record-breaking number of transactions taking place.
Posted on Tuesday Sep 16

Its all coming back to mean now

A common argument in favour of equity investments is that, even though they go down, they will bounce right back up again. Effectively, this implies mean reversion. The trouble is, there is no one clear definition of ‘mean reversion’ and the term covers a variety of nuances. Because of this, I find it helpful to think of two separate ideas: mean regression and active reversion. ‘Mean regression’ describes the idea that the average of a large sample will tend to revert toward the underlying mean.
Posted on Monday Sep 15

Do famous investment sayings hold water

Anyone who has spent time thinking about markets is likely to have heard at least a few time-honoured investing aphorisms. But do they actually work? In this episode, three experts discuss the findings from their recent whitepaper, which aimed to answer this question, separating the pearls of wisdom from the specious sayings. Our speakers are: Christopher Jeffery, head of macro strategy, Christopher Teschmacher, fund manager and head of asset allocation investment specialists, and Patrick Greene, strategist. This podcast is hosted by Dee Campell, DC Content Manager, and was recorded on 8 September 2025.
Posted on Friday Sep 12

Taking the fight to impersonation fraud

Fraudsters are using increasingly sophisticated impersonation tactics to target savers’ pensions. The enhanced intelligence we and our partners are developing means we can detect these threats and take action to prevent harm earlier. What we are seeing makes it clear that schemes must tighten their security – and take action to protect their members. That’s why we’re backing Action Fraud’s pension fraud campaign urging savers to stay alert. But industry must act now too.
Posted on Friday Sep 12

What longevity trends mean for pensions and insurers

Over the last two centuries, average life spans have doubled. For pension schemes, insurers and policymakers, this long-term trend has shaped how we think about retirement, ageing and financial security. But the story is becoming more complex. Recent decades have seen a slowdown in improvements. Covid-19 caused widespread disruption, and continuing healthcare pressures mean the future is less predictable. In this blog, we reflect on what’s happening to longevity – and what it means for pensions and insurance.
Posted on Thursday Sep 11

Lessons from the laundry room for pensions reform

My washing machine broke down last week. Faced with soggy washing, it would have been easy to look for a replacement machine, or call a repair company, but maybe because I was brought up to try to fix things myself, I looked for advice online. A spares company’s video pointed me in the direction of what the problem might be and provided a link to the spare parts. Two days later the motor was fixed, I’d learned something new and saved myself money. So, why is this relevant to pensions?
Posted on Wednesday Sep 10

Pension Schemes Bill a framework for the future of the LGPS

The Pension Schemes Bill is a significant piece of legislation which will make wholesale structural changes across the pensions landscape. In this article we focus on the changes it will make to the way the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) operates and is governed. The provisions in the Bill provide a framework for many of the reforms proposed in the November 2024 Fit for the Future consultation, although some of the changes – and much of the detail – will be implemented subsequently through regulations and statutory guidance.
Posted on Tuesday Sep 9

Will the Pensions Commission fix pension under saving

On 21 July 2025, the UK Government revived the Pensions Commission to tackle systemic pension under-saving and pension adequacy issues. The revived commission - that was originally convened in 2002 under Lord Adair Turner - will deliver its first report in 2027, with a mandate to examine why future retirees risk being poorer than todays, and propose reforms to build a strong, fair and sustainable pension framework.
Posted on Monday Sep 8

Climate and geopolitical shocks managing hyper volatility

Climate change intensifies geopolitical risk, creating hyper-volatility. How can organisations protect themselves against the resulting extreme, rapid and unpredictable changes in global systems? Hyper-volatility refers to a state of extreme and unpredictable fluctuations in global systems, such as financial markets, energy prices and insurance markets. In insurance terms, hyper-volatility involves events typically in the ‘fat tail’ of the distribution, beyond the 95th percentile, driven by simultaneous or cascading effects, including extreme weather events combined with geopolitical instability.
Posted on Friday Sep 5

September 2025 Edition of the Actuarial Post Magazine

Welcome to this month’s edition of the Actuarial Post magazine and the launch of our Actuarial Post Awards 2025. This will be the 13th year of running the awards and each year they become more popular with ever increasing numbers nominated and voted upon by you. This year we welcome our sponsors, Pension Insurance Corporation plc (PIC), a specialist insurer of defined benefit pension funds, for sponsoring Actuary of the Year 2025, alongside our long term sponsor partners Bolton Associates, sponsoring GI Actuary of the Year 2025 and Star Actuarial Futures for sponsoring both Stars of the Future 2025 and Sustainability Actuary of the Year 2025.
Posted on Thursday Sep 4

Make your nominations now for the 2025 Actuarial Post Awards

We are pleased to announce that the nominations for the Actuarial Post Awards 2025 are now open! This will be the 13th year of running the awards and each year they become more popular with ever increasing numbers nominated and voted upon. This year we welcome back our sponsor, Pension Insurance Corporation plc (PIC), a specialist insurer of defined benefit pension funds, for sponsoring Actuary of the Year 2025, alongside our long- term sponsor partners Bolton Associates, sponsoring GI Actuary of the Year 2025 and Star Actuarial Futures for sponsoring both Stars of the Future 2024 and Sustainability Actuary of the Year 2025.
Posted on Thursday Sep 4

Why HNWs turn to Life Insurance to protect estates from IHT

Recently, there has been reports of an uptick of Brits using life insurance policies to avoid inheritance tax on estates, viewing it not just as insurance but as an incredibly valuable estate planning tool. This strategic use of life cover aims to plug the IHT gap created by recent policy changes, with policies often placed in trust to keep payouts outside the taxable estate, ensuring a clean, efficient, and private transfer of wealth.
Posted on Tuesday Sep 2