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Edition

Updates - Fundamentals of Actuarial Mathematics (FAM) Exam

SOA Announces Reduction in Syllabus/Questions for FAM Exam

July 18, 2024

Beginning with the November 2024 Fundamentals of Actuarial Mathematics (FAM) Exam administration, the total number of questions on the exam will be reduced from 40 to 34. The syllabus material has been reduced to accommodate this reduction in questions. The time for the FAM Exam will remain at 3.5 hours.

Please see the questions and answers provided below for more information. If you have additional questions, please contact SOA customer service.

Q&A

  • Why did the SOA make this change?

    • The full FAM exam has always covered a great deal of material. Candidates and academics have voiced concerns that there is too much material and too many questions for a 3.5-hour exam. In addition, data from the recent exam sittings has reinforced these opinions.

  • Will this change the pass rate?

    • By allowing sufficient time for candidates to demonstrate their knowledge it is possible the pass rate will increase.
    • The questions will continue to have the same level of difficulty.

  • What topics have been removed from the syllabus?

    • Consult the published syllabus for the topics now being tested. The following is a high-level summary of the topics being removed.
      • From Topic 1, material on identifying the different types of short-term insurance coverages
      • From Topic 8, material population mortality curves
      • All of Topic 9 on parametric and non-parametric estimation

  • Why didn’t we do this sooner?

    • We felt it was important to keep the syllabus stable during the two-year transition period when the FAM-S and FAM-L exam halves were available for those candidates missing one half of FAM.
    • The two-year timeframe also gave us the opportunity to analyze and validate the data that was indicating a need for a reduction in material and questions.

  • Now that it is known that the current FAM has the issues described above, will the pass mark for the July FAM exam be adjusted?

    • No. The pass mark for the July exam will be consistent with that from prior administrations.

  • Do we anticipate similar changes for other preliminary exams?

    • No. This change is specific to this exam.