News

The Science Gallery in Dublin has been transformed into a virtual casino for its latest show, Risk Lab. Visitors can expect to learn more about their perception of risk and the psychology and maths behind games such as roulette and poker. The goal is to help give people a deeper understanding of risk-taking in every aspect of their lives.

The exhibition opened on the  2nd May, and the free show is set to run until 23rd June at the Science Gallery on Pearse Street.

The OECD has published its Review of the Irish Pension System.

The report provides an international perspective on Ireland’s retirement income provision, the result of a request from the Minister for Social Protection for a focused review on the viability and long-term impact of proposed changes in pension policy, taking into account the impact of the economic downturn. It covers all components of the pension system: state, private personal and occupational plans and schemes for public-sector employees.

Four significant objectives are examined:

The April 2013 issue of the IAA Newsletter is now available here https://web.actuaries.ie/press/iaa.

It features the following sections;

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) has published the preliminary results of the quantitative impact study (QIS) on Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision (IORPs) conducted by EIOPA in October – December 2012.

The purpose of this QIS is to assess the impact of the different options included in EIOPA’s advice on valuation and security mechanisms for the financial requirements for IORPs. The QIS is part of the process to advise the European Commission on the review of the IORP Directive.

The April 2013 issue of the SAI Newsletter is the first of the new year and is in a slightly different format than previous issues.  Rather than filling the newsletter with long reviews of evening meetings, the newsletter team is experimenting with having much shorter summaries. 

This approach means that we will need to draw on other content for the newsletter.  The newsletter team would appreciate receiving submissions and ideas from members for future editions. 

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) has launched a public consultation on Guidelines on preparing for Solvency II.

The European Commission has adopted a Green Paper that launches a three-month public consultation on how to foster the supply of long-term financing and how to improve and diversify the system of financial intermediation for long-term investment in Europe.

Full details are available here.

In its report on "Design and Delivery of Defined Contribution (DC) Pension Schemes - Policy Challenges and Recommendations", the OECD summarises the challenges policymakers face and recommends key improvements that can help to ensure DC delivers the incomes that individuals need.

The requirements you need to fulfil for the CERA qualification changed from September 2012.

For those taking the ST9 exam after 1 September 2012, you also need to attend a seminar in order to receive the qualification.

More information is available here

There are going to be some important changes for the April 2013 exams.

These include:

• The launch of electronic exam entry permits;
• A new style exam paper and answer booklet;
• The need to write in black ballpoint ink only and
• Scanning of exam answer booklets for marking purposes.

Please make sure you read this important information so as to be aware of the changes and to ensure that your script can be marked.