(SOA) is the largest professional organization dedicated to serving 22,000 actuarial members and the public in the United States, Canada and worldwide. The SOA's vision is for actuaries to be the leading professionals in the measurement and management of risk.
The SOA is committed to:
Education–Providing basic education in the fundamental principles of actuarial science, advanced education, professional development and continuing education for practicing actuaries.
Research–Conducting research to develop studies of historical experience and techniques for projections into the future, analyzing the actuarial aspects of public policy issues and providing the foundation for further expansion of the profession.
The Profession–Promoting high standards of professional competence and conduct within the actuarial profession.
SOA members typically align themselves within one of the following practice areas:
Finance–including risk management and dynamic financial models
Health–including managed care, Medicare, healthcare, providers, payers and premiums
Life Insurance
Retirement/Pension
Special Interest–areas including investment, long–term care, international and regulatory
As the needs of businesses and individuals have evolved, so have the contributions of SOA membership and actuaries everywhere:
When the Social Security System was formed in the late 1930s and pension systems were developed during the next several decades, actuaries were heartily involved in this burgeoning area.
As modern health insurance policies began to be issued in the middle of the 20th century, the skills of actuaries were required and today, actuaries are heavily involved in disease modeling.
As lifestyle improvements became important, consumers demanded credit for these healthier lifestyles, which led to actuaries helping develop preferred life insurance credits for non-smokers.
The diversification of many types of businesses led to organizations having much larger and wider-ranging risk profiles than ever before. These risks encompass personnel, insurance, financial, economic and legal issues. Due to their quantitative and qualitative skill set, actuaries are leaders in analyzing these risks, which is known as enterprise risk management (ERM).
Just as the Baby Boom generation turns 60, current retirement systems are not sustainable. Actuaries are leading the way in developing a framework around 21st century retirement systems.
