My first actuarial post in a very large insurance company was in the department dealing with industrial branch surrender values. While it introduced me to the world of utterly boring repetition, it didn't quite dissuade me from becoming an actuary. Having qualified as an FIA during 4 years with Duncan C Fraser (now part of Mercers), I then spent 12 years at Clay & Partners (now part of Aon), followed by 28 years at GAD until May 2018. All in all, I have been a UK pensions actuary for over 40 years and have also qualified as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (which was no easier than becoming an FIA).

My main worry is that DB pension actuaries have generally mainlined on risk without taking account of reward. That has led me to build and maintain long-term equity returns (last updated in May 2026), smoothed pension valuations (currently being updated) and discount rates (last updated in Mar 2026). Together with Con Keating, I also maintain estimating long-term inflation. Although they’re still online, I doubt I shall be updating FRS17 in pictures or arbitration in pictures any time soon.

Over the last several years, I have been Treasurer of Advicenow {previously called Law For Life}, Advocacy In Barnet and Helplines Partnership, stepping down after my terms of office complete (closure in the case of Advocacy In Barnet). At present, I’m Treasurer of Lawyers Against Poverty (which will sadly soon close down) and Tech4All, and I’m looking for new gigs because this activity keeps me somewhat occupied, for which I’m grateful.