Credentialing organizations In the U.S., for life, health, and pension actuaries, exams are given by the
Society of Actuaries, while for property-casualty actuaries the exams are administered by the
Casualty Actuarial Society. To sign certain statements of actuarial opinion, however, American actuaries must be members of the
American Academy of Actuaries. Academy membership requirements include membership in one of the recognized actuarial societies, at least three years of full-time equivalent experience in responsible actuarial work, and either residency in the United States for at least three years or a non-resident or new resident who meets certain requirements. Continuing education is required after certification for all actuaries who sign statements of actuarial opinion. The
Canadian Institute of Actuaries (the CIA) recognizes fellows of both the Society of Actuaries and the Casualty Actuary Society, provided that they have specialized study in Canadian actuarial practice. For fellows of the SOA, this is fulfilled by taking the CIA's Practice Education Course (PEC). For fellows of the Casualty Actuarial Society, this is fulfilled by taking the nation-specific Exam 6-Canada, instead of Exam 6-United States. Further, the CIA requires three years of actuarial practice within the previous decade, and 18 months of Canadian actuarial practice within the last three years, to become a fellow.
Education and exams The Society of Actuaries' requirements for Associateship (ASA) include passing 6 preliminary examinations (
probability, financial mathematics, fundamentals of actuarial mathematics,
statistics for risk modeling,
predictive analytics, and one from either advanced long-term actuarial mathematics or advanced short-term actuarial mathematics), validating educational experience (VEE) in 3 fields (
economics,
accounting and
finance, and
mathematical statistics), completing self-learning series and passing their assessments (advanced topics in predictive analytics, five-module fundamentals of actuarial practice), and taking a course on professionalism. For Fellowship (FSA), three other modules, three or four exams depending on specialty track, and a special fellowship admission course is added. The Casualty Actuarial Society requires the successful completion of seven examinations, two modules, and economics and corporate finance VEEs for Associateship and three additional exams for Fellowship. In addition to these requirements, casualty actuarial candidates must also complete professionalism education and be recommended for membership by existing members. Depending on which society a student chooses to pursue, there are six or seven preliminary exams. Most of the exams are multiple choice and administered on computers at
Prometric testing centers. Candidates are allowed to use a calculator from an approved list. The exams are timed and last between three and four hours. Some tests provide instant feedback as to whether or not a candidate has passed that particular exam (see table below). All test scores (on a 0-10 scale with 6 or higher passing) are posted six to eight weeks after the exam window ends. The scores are based on ratios to the pass mark; for example, a 6 indicates that the candidate received 100% to 110% of the passing score required for that sitting. Similarly, scoring less than 50% of the passing score would yield a 0, and scoring 150% or more of the passing score would yield a 10. A sufficiently high pass mark could thus render a grade of 10 impossible if there are not enough points on the exam to score over 150% of that requirement. ==Notes==