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Actuary

Kaitauwhiro Pūtea

Actuaries predict and assess the financial risks and impacts of future events. They work in areas such as insurance, superannuation and investment.

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Secondary education

NCEA Level 3 is required to enter tertiary training. Useful subjects include English, economics, accounting, and mathematics.

Study fields

Study levels

  • Bachelor's degree
  • Master's degree and above

Useful experience

Useful experience for actuaries includes:

  • work for an insurance company
  • experience programming computers
  • accounting and computer work
  • experience analysing financial statements
  • any work involving mathematics and statistics.

What you will do

Actuaries may do some or all of the following:

  • collect and analyse statistics about past financial events
  • forecast the effect of future financial events
  • analyse and solve business problems using mathematical and statistical modelling techniques
  • advise businesses and government on managing financial and other business risks
  • prepare reports and advise on insurance, investment, superannuation and management of funds
  • calculate the assets and liabilities of insurance companies, and determine their financial strength
  • help to determine a company's financial results
  • apply data science techniques to understand large and complex data sets.

Skills and knowledge

Actuaries need to have:

  • knowledge of maths, statistics, economics, accounting, finance and investment
  • understanding of the risks involved in running a business
  • knowledge of business management and law, including economic and social law.
Pay

Trainee actuaries usually earn

$55K-$165K

per year

Qualified actuaries with five years' experience usually earn

$140K-$180K

per year

Job opportunities
Good
Chances of getting a job as an actuary are good due to growing demand for their services.
Length of training
5-8
years of training usually required.

Industry

Finance

Actuaries predict and assess the financial risks and impacts of future events. They work in areas such as insurance, superannuation and investment.

Similar jobs in this industry

Entry requirements

There are no specific requirements to become a trainee actuary. However, it is recommended you have a Bachelor's degree in mathematics or statistics, or an Honours degree, which can be in a non-mathematical subject.

Victoria University of Wellington is the only university in New Zealand that offers a Bachelor of Science or a Bachelor of Commerce in actuarial science. By completing this course, you could be exempted from some actuarial institute exams.

To become a qualified actuary you need to pass a number of exams set by an overseas actuary institute, which you study while working full time. Most trainee actuaries in New Zealand sit exams set by the Actuaries Institute (Australia) or the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (UK).

You also need to be registered with the New Zealand Society of Actuaries.

Chances of getting a job

Demand growing for actuaries

Your chances of securing a job as an actuary are best if you have excellent mathematical and communication skills.

Demand for actuaries is strong because:

  • the number of jobs available is increasing across a broad range of industries
  • the number of qualified actuaries is small and it takes a long time to train
  • global demand for actuaries is high.

Job advertisements for actuaries, mathematicians and statisticians rose 18% between 2017 and 2018, according to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

According to the Census, 456 actuaries worked in New Zealand in 2018.

Most actuaries work in insurance

Most actuaries work for insurance companies or consulting firms based in Auckland or Wellington. However, there are increasing job opportunities in the education, health and software development sectors.

Actuaries may work for:

  • life and general insurance companies
  • specialist actuary consulting firms
  • Crown entities and government departments and institutions such as the Reserve Bank and Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC)
  • employee benefit consulting firms
  • larger consulting firms offering a range of specialised services, such as the big accountancy firms.

Find out more about training

Actuaries Institute (Australia)
00 61 2 9239 6100 - actuaries@actuaries.asn.au - www.actuaries.asn.au
New Zealand Society of Actuaries
(04) 815 8179 - society@actuaries.org.nz - www.actuaries.org.nz

Progression and specialisations

Actuaries may move into management or chief officer roles.

They may specialise in areas such as:

  • superannuation
  • insurance
  • banking and finance
  • electricity
  • carbon crediting.

Working conditions

Actuaries:

  • usually work regular business hours, but may sometimes work weekends or evenings to meet deadlines
  • work in offices, but may travel locally to visit clients.

Useful personal qualities

Actuaries need to be:

  • skilled at analysing and interpreting information
  • good at solving problems and making decisions
  • accurate and methodical
  • able to communicate well
  • able to write reports.

Industry

Finance

Actuaries predict and assess the financial risks and impacts of future events. They work in areas such as insurance, superannuation and investment.

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