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Changes to SA4 in 2019

Discussion in 'SA4' started by Ace123, Apr 24, 2018.

  1. Ace123

    Ace123 Member

    I was wondering if someone can clarify the changes to SA4 in 2019, I've heard rumours that pensions relating to UK specific is going to be removed, and it will be more general, which will be fairer to non UK sitters. Can anyone confirm that this is true, and is there anything else being removed?
     
    Ace123, Apr 24, 2018
    #1
  2. Stuart Underwood

    Stuart Underwood Member

    There will be signifcant changes in 2019 - too many to document.
    The course will become less UK specific, although many of the examples given will refer to the UK context.
     
    Stuart Underwood, May 12, 2018
    #2
  3. apuntigam

    apuntigam Member

    This would be a very positive development. As a non-UK resident, I often wonder why the focus has been so heavily on the UK environment when the IFoA is an international organisation with many international students. I found the April 2018 SA4 paper a good example of an exam being too specific to the UK.
     
    apuntigam, May 15, 2018
    #3
    sandmak likes this.
  4. Ace123

    Ace123 Member

    How many chapters are in SA4 now since the update?
     
    Ace123, Oct 4, 2018
    #4
  5. Nqpa92

    Nqpa92 Member

    No idea - apparently the material isn't available for despatch until November
     
    Last edited: Oct 7, 2018
    Nqpa92, Oct 5, 2018
    #5
  6. Ace123

    Ace123 Member

    Where you hear that?
     
    Ace123, Oct 5, 2018
    #6
  7. Nqpa92

    Nqpa92 Member

    When I was ordering the material, there was a disclaimer stating that it will be despatched (if i recall correctly) 9 November
     
    Last edited: Oct 7, 2018
    Nqpa92, Oct 5, 2018
    #7
    Ace123 likes this.
  8. Gresham Arnold

    Gresham Arnold ActEd Tutor Staff Member

    Hi Ace123

    The SA4 CMP for the 2019 exams will contain 27 chapters, split into six Parts (3 to 6 chapters per Part)

    The CMP will be sent out in two sections: Parts 1-3 will be sent out first, then Parts 4-6 at a later date.

    Parts 1-3: our team is in the process of arranging for this section of the course to be sent to the printers, printed to stock and then despatched. It's not clear exactly how long that process will take but the team are hoping they will be able to beat the 9 November despatch date mentioned above.

    I hope that helps

    Best wishes

    Gresham
     
    Gresham Arnold, Oct 8, 2018
    #8
  9. Ace123

    Ace123 Member

    So we have a situation that exam materials won't be available for another month - which is approx. 8 weeks after the exams, and the exams in April 2019 are 2 weeks earlier than before, so basically students are down 10 weeks of study due to issues with printing etc?

    Do we know how much of the old SA4 syllabus is still intact, if one wishes to start studying now?
     
    Ace123, Oct 8, 2018
    #9
  10. Gresham Arnold

    Gresham Arnold ActEd Tutor Staff Member

    Hi Ace123

    If you are keen to get going now please email ActEd; our customer services team will arrange for some SA4 material to be sent direct to anyone who requests it so that they can make a start.

    Which chapters will change the least between 2018 and 2019? This is subjective, but I would say the chapters on valuation data, sources of surplus, analysis of surplus, and discontinuance

    The content of Part 1 (with the possible exception of the Professional Guidance chapter) feels very different overall because this part of the 2018 course contained a lot of UK specific detail. SA4 is no longer UK specific, so general principles have been introduced and the UK specific details have either been removed or quoted as UK examples and some examples from elsewhere in the world have been added. The Sponsor Covenant chapter has also changed a lot.

    There are changes throughout the rest of the course, but many of the broad themes and points remain unchanged, so reading Part 2 onwards of the 2018 course will still provide a very useful overview.

    We will try to provide more of an overview of the changes soon, but I hope this helps in the meantime

    Gresham
     
    Last edited: Oct 8, 2018
    Gresham Arnold, Oct 8, 2018
    #10
  11. Ace123

    Ace123 Member

    Just on this part, in the exam, can they ask questions specific to the UK at all? or additional can I use examples from the UK, or indeed any location in the world?
     
    Ace123, Oct 23, 2018
    #11
  12. Gresham Arnold

    Gresham Arnold ActEd Tutor Staff Member

    There are UK examples in the Core Reading, so I think the examiners could set a question that is pretty specific to the UK by, for example, stating in the question that it is a UK scheme or a UK employer. With such questions I would be wanting to draw on those UK examples (rather than examples from elsewhere in the world, unless for some reason they seem relevant).

    The examiners may well also set questions where the jurisdiction is unclear. I think in these cases it would be OK to draw on any examples in the Core Reading, UK or otherwise.

    The IFoA has published a specimen exam paper and solutions (here: https://www.actuaries.org.uk/studying/curriculum-2019/pensions-and-other-benefits )

    The questions are old SA4 questions that have been updated. The question paper names the original question. Might be worth comparing the new question and solution with the original versions to gain a sense of how the examiners think the questions and solutions are affected by the changes in the SA4? None of the new questions situate the question in the UK, but I think all of the original questions did.

    Gresham
     
    Gresham Arnold, Oct 23, 2018
    #12

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