Following the Morris review of the UK actuarial profession (2005), the FRC became responsible for technical actuarial standards (“TASs”), professional matters remaining controlled by the actuarial profession (more by the executive). A new TAS regime was implemented from July 2017, the target being the delivery of appropriate advice as opposed to being about regulations. Two points are particularly interesting.

First, definition [3.2] of the Framework Reliability Objective requires transparency of assumptions together with the communication of any inherent uncertainty.

Secondly, TAS 300 (pensions) requires that actuarial communications shall explain comparisons between the discount rates used (or proposed) against the expected assets return according to the stated strategy.

Scalar assumptions or results cannot comply with the above. Why is this ignored?