Are you having doubts on how & when to apply for IFoA Membership? Here we come to rescue..
Benefits of Membership of IFoA:
Here is what IFoA (Institute and Faculties of Actuaries) membership can mean to you:
• You can appear for more exams. This will be the ladder for you to become a Qualified Actuary
• You get access to exam study material and counseling
• Guidance in your Actuarial job on parameters like ethics & technology
• Opportunity for career growth via participation in international events
• IFoA provides you actuarial news/updates through journals and publications
• Apply for exemptions for which you might be eligible.
Since I wanted to know how manageable actuarial studies were, I gave the non-member exam first. In my case it was CT1 (the old syllabus part of CM1). After I passed the exam, I surely understood the kind of commitment this course needed from me and excitement it generated in me. I would strongly recommend giving the non-member exam first. In my time, back in 2017, only CT1 was allowed as non-member. But now you can either give CM1 or CS1.
Membership of IFoA
To become a student member of IFoA, you need to complete an application online form. There is no eligibility criteria / requirement for applying for membership, so anyone can apply regardless of the past experience/specialization. IFoA accepts application throughout the year. However, if you want to appear for September 2021 exam as a student member, then you need to submit your membership application before 18th June 2021.
It is recommended that you appear for CM1 or CS1 before applying for membership. So that you can get an idea of what field you are going in. After clearing either of the above papers, you need to apply for membership so that you can be eligible to attempt further papers. The membership needs to be renewed before 31st October each year. This is applicable regardless of the month in which you applied for membership. This renewal cost will depend on your taxable income p.a. as per UK laws. A person having an annual income of less than 7,230 pounds (approx. Rs7,23,000* ) is eligible for reduced fees. The reduced fees is 73 Pounds (approx. Rs.7300*). Here is a more detailed version for you to know how much fees you need to pay: https://www.actuaries.org.uk/system/files/field/document/MembershipSubsc…
Total fees for Membership application for IFoA is 208 Pounds (approx. Rs.20,800*). This is to be paid when you are applying for membership for the first time and hence it is called entrance fees.
Link: https://www.actuaries.org.uk/system/files/field/document/2020_11_subscri…
It is recommended that all students should apply for reduced rate via this application form, specifically ones which actually have annual income less than Rs7,23,000* Link: https://www.actuaries.org.uk/application-reduced-rate-subscription
Procedure for membership application:
Note: If you already have an ARN, you can login in the link below and continue reading from step 5. But if you don’t have it, then create an account.
https://www.actuaries.org.uk/membership-application?type=apply_for_membe…
Step 1: Create a username and enter your personal details. Click the “create new account” button.
Step 2: Open email sent by education.services@actuaries.org.uk and validate your email.
Step 3: Click the link contained in email and then type ARN & password provided.
Step 4: Create a new password and type it twice. Then click save. Note down this password somewhere for your future use.
Step 5: Provide your personal details , employment details (if any) and education details. Depending on the number of applications IFoA receives along with yours, they may take upto 3 weeks. Here 3 weeks is when IFoA receives too many applications and will rarely occur.
Step 6: Choose your payment method. It can be either of the following:
• Debit card or credit card
• American express company
• Paypal
• Cheque (if you are in UK)
• Bank Transfer
Step 7: Provide a Declaration to be bound by the IFoA’s Rules and IFoA Actuaries code.
Your application would be processed and approved within 3 weeks of Application
Here is the FAQ page for more information: https://www.actuaries.org.uk/studying/non-members/student-admission-ifoa…
A more detailed video instructions can be found here : How to Register for IFoA Student Member?
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltV9pdsxhLA
In the next article, we will learn about foreign institutes like University of Leicester.
*For simplicity purposes, throughout this article we have assumed a conversion rate of 1Pound = 100 Rupees. However real time figures might vary. You can check the current conversion rate through this link: https://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/convert/?Amount=1&From=GBP&To=INR