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Basic Requirement Provisions (Section B)
B1. How does the two-year rolling cycle work?
As of every December 31, you'll certify that during the past two calendar years, you've earned enough CPD credit to fulfill the most recent two-year requirement. Credits earned in a given year will be considered in two CPD cycles (except for credit earned in 2009, the first year of the Requirement). For example, credit earned during 2011 will be considered for the cycle ending in 2011 and for the cycle ending in 2012.
With a rolling two-year cycle, members must ensure they have met the requirement for each two year period. See Section B1 (b).
Example: Bob Member follows the Basic Requirement Provisions of Section B. Bob must earn 60 units of CPD credit for each rolling two-year cycle, beginning with the cycle ending Dec. 31, 2010. Bob earns 20 units of CPD credit during 2009 and 55 units of CPD credit during 2010. He has 75 units of CPD credit for the cycle ending Dec. 31, 2010. Bob earns 8 units during 2011. He has 63 units of CPD credit for the cycle ending Dec. 31, 2011. Bob must earn an additional 52 units of CPD credit during 2012 to have 60 units of CPD credit for the cycle ending Dec. 31, 2012.
B2. How is a unit defined?
Units are 50 minutes long. When determining credit, partial hours are considered. For example, 60 minutes of structured or self-study time equals 1.2 units; 90 minutes of structured or self-study time equals 1.8 units of credit.
B3. What topics will I be required to cover?
The CPD Requirement encompasses job-relevant topics and business and management skills. The Requirement sets targets in each category to ensure a balanced education, but you're free to determine the amount of education you'll complete in each category as long as you adhere to the minimum and maximum standards. As part of your job-relevant credits, you need to complete three units of professionalism (see FAQ B4).
B4. What are the requirements for professionalism credit?
Three units of professionalism must be earned in a structured setting every cycle. Because professionalism and professional standards are the foundation of actuarial practice, it's critical that all actuaries understand their application. Also, because there must be no misunderstanding about their application, it is important that professionalism units be earned in a structured setting rather than through self-study to allow actuaries to interact with and learn from each other regarding their application. Therefore, you must have at least three units of structured credit in professionalism during a two-year cycle. You are encouraged to earn more professionalism credit, either through structured or self-study settings.
B5. Are any specific courses required? Are any specific topics excluded?
No. The CPD Requirement is designed to maintain your skill level as you practice, so topics should relate to the skills you need to do your job. For some actuaries, like those in management roles, non-technical job-relevant topics will make up the bulk of their job-relevant credit. For others, non-technical topics are important for future development but, shouldn't make up the bulk of CPD units earned.
B6. Will members in certain practice areas have practice specific requirements?
No. SOA Sections might elect to develop lists of appropriate topics or paths of study for actuaries, including reading lists and suggestions for self-study. These reading lists would be suggestions only.
B7. Can I complete the entire CPD Requirement through self-study?
No. You must earn at least 50 percent of your credits–or 30 units per cycle–in structured education.
B8. What are job-relevant topics?
These typically include both technical and non-technical topics. Examples of technical topics include actuarial, mathematical, modeling, legislative and regulatory, legal and other similar skills that are core to the work of actuaries and specific to your role or practice area. Job-relevant topics also include non-technical skills, particularly for those in management roles or aspiring toward management roles, including market and industry trends, business cycles and national and global economic issues. Job-relevant topics will vary from actuary to actuary based on the nature of your job, your area of practice, position and aspirations. For some actuaries, such as those in management roles, non-technical topics will make up the bulk of their job-relevant credit since these topics are critical to their role. For others, non-technical topics are important for future development but shouldn't comprise the bulk of CPD units they earn.
B9. What does professionalism include?
Professionalism encompasses the professional and ethical standards the public and those who employ actuaries expect actuaries to follow in carrying out their obligations. Examples include Actuarial Code of Professional Conduct (United States), Rules of Professional Conduct (Canada) and Actuarial Standards of Practice (ASOPs). Professionalism also covers general business ethics (see FAQ B10).
B10. Professionalism seems narrowly defined to cover just ASOPs and U.S. and Canadian Codes of Professional Conduct. What else constitutes professionalism?
The ASOPs and U.S. and Canadian Codes of Professional Conduct are cited as examples of professionalism topics. Section B4 (a (iii)) also lists "other professionalism topics, such as ethics" in the definition. This is designed to allow a wide range of professionalism topics, including but not limited to ethical issues regarding: fiduciary responsibilities, corporate governance, discrimination in hiring/workplace, price-fixing/monopolistic practices, intellectual property rights, business intelligence and ethical standards/practices around the world.
B11. I use my SOA credential in my non-traditional actuarial role. Does my job-relevant credit have to meet the criteria for a traditional actuarial role when my job is non-traditional?
No. You don't have to get continuing education in traditional actuarial topics to fulfill the CPD requirement. Job-relevant CPD is defined as that which broadens or deepens your knowledge of work required for your current role, related disciplines or a new area in which you contemplate practicing. Therefore, job-relevant CPD for actuaries in non-traditional positions will be different from job-relevant CPD for actuaries in traditional roles.
B12. Who determines what education is job-relevant?
Ultimately, you define the CPD activities that are relevant to your development and the appropriate balance of technical and non-technical job-relevant topics you believe is necessary. The Requirement defines continuing education as job relevant if it broadens or deepens your knowledge of work required for your current role, in related disciplines that bear directly on your work or in a new area in which you're considering practicing in the future.
B13. What are business and management skills?
Business and management skills are the skills necessary for success because they improve your personal effectiveness and ability to succeed in a diverse business environment. They include business writing, speaking, people management, negotiation, influencing, project management and leadership skills. They're encouraged but not required in the CPD Requirement. The amount of business and management skills you should take depends on your job and your level of expertise in business skills. The maximum amount of the CPD Requirement that can be satisfied by business and management skills is 15 units per two-year cycle.
B14. What counts as self-study?
Many activities count as self-study, with the only exception being normal work duties. Acceptable self-study activities include, but aren't limited to, reading actuarial literature, statutes or regulations; reading books, papers or articles on relevant technical or professional topics; writing professional papers or articles; studying for actuarial exams; preparing presentations; research or distance learning. Self-study should require a reasonable degree of thought and would exclude "normal" reading such as newspapers, e-mail news updates, internal company memos or process documents.
B15. If I make a presentation at a professional event (including an employer-sponsored event), will that count toward my CPD Requirement?
Yes. Writing the presentation counts as self-study time, while the actual presentation counts as structured credit.
Example: Christopher Member will be part of a panel presenting on principle-based reserving for his local actuarial club. He spends three hours preparing the presentation. He presents his material, along with other members of his panel, at his actuarial club meeting, which lasts 1.5 hours. For this presentation, Christopher earns 3.6 units of job-relevant self-study credit and 1.8 units of job-relevant structured credit.
B16. I volunteer for an actuarial organization. Will I get credit toward the CPD Requirement for that activity?
Volunteer time with an actuarial or other professional organization qualifies to the extent that the activity is job-relevant or relates to business or management skills. If the volunteer activity also involves interaction with other volunteers (such as a meeting or conference calls), it qualifies as structured job-relevant credit. For example, if you participate in research project oversight groups in which you read and review papers related to your area of practice, you'll receive self-study credit for the time spent reading and reviewing the papers and structured credit for any conference calls or meetings discussing the papers. But if you plan an organizational social event, you won't earn CPD credit for that work, since it's not job-relevant.
B17. Why does the CPD Requirement only consider volunteer activities with a "professional organization" or CPD credits earned at a "professional meeting"?
This language is used primarily to distinguish those activities that are related to your profession with other personal interests and activities. Professional activities have many dimensions: they can relate to the actuarial profession, your industry, your clients' industries or other aspects of your job. Personal activities, such as volunteering at schools, houses of worship, food pantries or other organizations, do not relate to the maintenance of your professional skills.
B18. When would on-the-job professional development be considered to be a CPD activity, particularly job-relevant CPD?
Learning something new for your job is a professional development activity that earns job-relevant CPD credit. Applying something new in your job is part of your normal job duties, and would not earn CPD credit. For example, learning a new regulation that you need to apply in your job would earn job-relevant CPD credit. Making recommendations to your client or boss on how to comply with the new regulation does not earn CPD credit because you've now applied what you've learned in your job.
B19. Will the SOA be certifying events and other materials as eligible for CPD credit?
No. We also will not certify approved providers. A wide range of activities can be considered as continuing professional development, and each member will make the determination of what activities count as job-relevant, business and management skills, professionalism, structured and non-structured credit under the SOA CPD Requirement for him or herself.
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