As a specialist adviser on some of the major financial liabilities of government, the Government Actuary is well-placed to reflect on the attitude to risk within Whitehall and to describe the professional challenges of his unique position. Actuarial involvement in government can be traced back to the 19th century and the Government Actuary’s Department has been around for nearly 100 years. The current Government Actuary will explain the role of actuaries in government today, focusing on areas which are distinct from private sector work:
1) Intergenerational fairness in pensions and social security – the rate of exchange for risks that are underwritten across generations and the levers that government has to manage them.
2) The quantification and risk mitigation for contingent liabilities and other sovereign risks. Some recent case studies of government initiatives supported by actuarial analysis.
3) The support of robust decision-making through professionally-sourced analysis. How the analytical professions, including actuaries, interface across government to inform policy-making.