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Solvency II ‘is an object lesson in how not to make law’

(Full story: bit.ly/10pg0bi) “1. The PRA estimated the Solvency II costs to total at least £3bn for UK companies alone. 2. Lloyds of London has already spent £300m. 3. More important, harmonisation reduces diversity and increases systemic risk.” – Fessal Bouaziz, 4 May

Young women’s motor insurance costs ‘up by a third’

(Full story: bit.ly/Y8xtbC) “I don’t think pricing on the base of gender would trigger discrimination to

A selection of comments posted online about news stories published on www.theactuary.com. Have your say by heading over to www.theactuary.com/news now.

females, particularly [if it] would bring them a lower price. So I’m still doubting the use of this directive” – Kris Chen, 2 May

Pension schemes ‘face tough choices agreeing new funding plans’

(Full story: bit.ly/XCGOKK) “The premise of this article is that pension scheme liabilities are valued using a discount rate set by reference to gilt yields. Of course, this is not a requirement of the law. Advisers, trustees and employers are under no obligation to assume that ‘their investment strategy will always deliver the same margin above gilt yields’. There is no unavoidable problem of low gilt yields raising funding targets. Scheme actuaries are free to recommend a prudent funding strategy without referencing gilt yields.” – Derek Benstead, 12 April

Lengthy retirement ‘is bad for your health’

(Full story: bit.ly/15PpcPv) “Thank you for the ‘wake-up call’! I’m a secretary for a society of pensioners from the metal industry in The Netherlands.” – Arie Stuijt, 16 May

Scottish slip-up

I have just read the latest in a series of informative public interest papers on the topical subject of the pensions implications of an independent Scotland. Who do readers think this valuable contribution to the pensions debate was published by? 1. The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. 2. The Scottish Board of our profession, whose remit focuses on Scotland. 3. A large employer of actuaries based in Scotland. 4. None of the above. I am embarrassed to say that the answer, as ridiculous as it may seem, is 4.

We consigned Scotland’s actuarial profession to history only three years ago, but let’s not surrender our natural habitat altogether and to other professions – in this case, the accountancy profession. Gerry Devenney 17 May

The editorial team welcomes readers’ letters but reserves the right to edit them for publication. Please email letters@ theactuary.com by 19 June 2013.

Big enough to fi ll this chair?

With a growing print readership of approximately 25,000 and an increasing online presence (http://www.theactuary.com/), The Actuary is a key platform for news, views and jobs in the actuarial community and the leading publication for the actuarial profession in the UK. The current editor is due to step down this year, so SIAS is looking for a highly motivated and enthusiastic successor to lead the editorial team of the magazine going forward. Do you think you have the energy and dedication to take a role in guiding an expanding specialist production team? Do you have the creative fl air yet the eye for detail to preside over a high-quality publication? This is a challenging role and we require a volunteer with strong communication skills, an ability to work under the pressure of meeting publishing deadlines and the commercial awareness to take the magazine forward. However, the editor will be working with a strong team of experienced publishing staff and specialist editors. A more detailed description of the role may be found in the following link http://www.theactuary.com/news/2013/04/editor-role

If you think you have got what it takes, and would like to fi nd out more, please express your interest, including a CV, by emailing Alvin Kissoon at actuarymagazine@sias.org.uk no later than 30 June 2013.