4 March 2024
With the UK Chancellor set to announce the financial priorities in the forthcoming Budget Statement on Wednesday 6 March 2024, the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) has called for measures to meet the test for an increased focus on long-term thinking in the UK.
The IFoA’s recent policy prospectus ‘Beyond the Next Parliament’ draws attention to the effects of short-termism and suggests an alternative approach to ensure a longer time horizon is considered in the policymaking process. It highlights various structural and behavioural barriers that prevent long-term thinking in UK policymaking. The report focuses on a range of areas including investing in social care reform, preventative health, productivity benefits from AI, renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure, and retirement savings for the specific needs of different generations.
Kalpana Shah, IFoA President, said “The IFoA is concerned that without a strategic focus on the big picture challenges that society faces, both for this Budget and the subsequent election, the UK risks sleepwalking into another period of inaction. We understand that fire-fighting and planning for long-term resilience are not easy to do at the same time. But societal issues such as population health, social care, climate change and resource management are in urgent need of a systems thinking approach. There must be acknowledgement that driving effective solutions will go well beyond the next parliamentary term and current economic challenges. We encourage the Chancellor to kick start this process by capacity building in the Budget.
“We hope that this budget will provide the first step in establishing a platform to address the issues that often sit in the ‘too difficult’ box. Actuaries are experts in long-term risk management across several key sectors and take a rigorous, dispassionate and meticulous approach to their work. We look forward to playing our part in helping to develop long-term solutions to these big societal challenges.”
~ENDS~
Sonia Sequeira, Communications Lead, IFoA
Tel: 07525 592 198
Email: sonia.sequeira@actuaries.org.uk
Beyond the next Parliament: The case for long term policymaking. September 2023. Institute and Faculty of Actuaries
The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) is a royal chartered, not-for-profit, professional body.
Research undertaken by the IFoA is not commercial. As a learned society, research helps us to fulfil our royal charter requirements to further actuarial science and serve the public interest.
Actuaries provide commercial, financial and prudential advice on the management of a business’s assets and liabilities, especially where long term management and planning are critical to the success of any business venture. They also advise individuals, and advise on social and public interest issues.
Members of the IFoA have a statutory role in the supervision of pension funds and life insurance companies. They also have a statutory role to provide actuarial opinions for managing agents at Lloyd’s of London.
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The IFoA is available to provide independent expert comment to the media on a range of actuarial-related issues, including COVID-19 and its long term consequences, mortality, pensions, life and general insurance, health and care, finance and investment, climate change and sustainability, systems thinking, uncertainty and judgement, and risk management.