The first part of the Address is a review of changes over the last 30 years in the actuarial management of a life office — ranging from the introduction of the Appointed Actuary system to some of the consequences of the Financial Services Act. It draws attention to some of the differences in the regulatory treatment of life assurance companies and other competing organisations in the savings field, highlights some of the shortcomings in the European solvency regime that is currently being reviewed by the authorities, comments on developments in the area of anti-discriminatory legislation and draws attention to some possible problems arising from such legislation.

The Address continues by outlining some of the issues that must be tackled if the profession is to expand into other fields, and the last part comments on developments in the day-to-day management of the United Kingdom actuarial profession and the Faculty's relationship with the Institute.

The paper outlines some background thinking to current pensions issues. In particular it addresses areas where the profession requires to articulate clearer views or reasoning about its position.