The IFoA Review Team has published its fourth report Funeral Plan Trusts: A thematic review report on the advice of actuaries.
This is the first report (www.actuaries.org.uk/funeralplantrustsreview2022) from a series of reviews looking at actuaries as experts in narrower fields. Funeral plan trust advice was chosen as the first in this series because regulations are changing and there is significant interest in the operation of the pre-paid funeral sector.
Neil Buckley, chair of the IFoA Regulatory Board, said: “Around 1.5 million UK consumers have purchased a pre-paid funeral plan and are therefore relying on funeral plan trusts to meet the cost of their funerals. Although only a very small number of actuaries are involved in providing advice in this area, the size of the market demonstrates there is a significant public interest in actuarial advice being appropriate and of a consistently high standard.”
The review looked at examples of actuarial advice to pre-paid funeral plan trusts and burial societies. The report sets out key findings and recommendations, and contains a high-level summary of the advice reviewed, as well as case studies showcasing examples of good practice.
“I would like to thank the actuaries from nine organisations of all sizes who agreed to take part in this review, which included scrutiny of advice and in-depth conversations with the actuaries involved,” said the report’s author, IFoA senior review actuary David Gordon. “This has provided a detailed snapshot of the actuarial work being carried out in the run-up to regulation by the FCA.”
The IFoA Thematic Review Programme is part of the Actuarial Monitoring Scheme, and is designed to improve the effectiveness of actuarial regulation in the public interest, provide meaningful, credible, independent feedback to members and their employers, and promote ongoing reinforcement and continuous improvement.
