I am currently a second year (penultimate year) student studying maths and economics. I have applied for a variety of pensions actuarial internships and progressed to the later stages at a number of these, including PwC, Towers Watson, Mercer and Barnett Waddingham. It is only after sitting down and preparing for partner interviews where I have realised that it may not be a good idea to go into a career now in pensions (with the move from DB to DC). Is there still a career for someone like me in pensions or would it be strongly advisable to change plans and try for more insurance based schemes. I feel I may be too late in applying for insurance internships now but may consider graduate schemes in GI or life next year. Any shared experiences/views would be really useful as well as opinions on the different companies which I have listed above. Many thanks!
Hi there. I was in a similar position to yourself a while back. As far as "is there still a career for someone like me in pensions", I would say no. Currently at most 14% of DB pensions schemes in the UK are open to new entrants. That means that realistically the current cohort of people who are in DB schemes will be the last (that 14% figures has been dropping by about 2% each year for the past few years). Lots of companies are looking to reduce the burden these schemes have on themselves and so are ultimately looking to the "buy-out" scenario (where the Scheme pays an insurance company to take on all their liabilities). This has been accelerated recently with the advent of lots of de-risking exercises, where members of the pension scheme are offered a choice to get different benefits (more money now in exchange for less later effectively). These exercises are pushed by all of the pensions consultancies that you've mentioned as they rack up some decent fees. The problem is that when they're complete, the pension scheme is closer to buy-out. When that happens, all those fees dry up. Now, just because there isn't going to be a "career" like there was (and still is) for people who joined the profession, 10, 15+ years ago doesn't mean that you won't get anything out of an internship at a pensions consultancy, or indeed a job at a pensions consultancy. The experience that you'll gain from completing an internship is invaluable. It doesn't matter that it's in pensions, because there are some overriding values/methods that apply to all actuarial work. To name a few: Excel Making your work clear and easily checkable Discounting expected cashflows Calculating expected cashflows Interpreting benefits Working within teams Working to deadlines I would say that you should continue with these applications, and see if there are any for GI as well. But keep your eye on the long game. Get the experience now and learn the skills that will set you apart for next year when you can apply to the big companies again but for GI instead. And even if you end up working at a pensions consultancy after you graduate, there are still opportunities to move across from pensions to GI.
Thanks very much for your help! I think I will proceed with trying to get a pensions internship this year and then look for a grad job in GI. What are the big graduate recruiters for insurance schemes?
All the big 4 have insurance grad schemes, as do grant thornton, barnett waddingham and the like. Some insurance companies also offer grad schemes, probably Aviva, AXA, Allianz, Catlin. Tbh there should be lots of places to apply, just do your research.
