Government Actuary's Department

Government Actuary's Department
Welsh: Adran Actiwari'r Llywodraeth

Non-ministerial government department overview
Formed	1919 (1919)
Jurisdiction	United Kingdom
Headquarters	Finlaison House, 15-17 Furnival Street, London, EC4A 1AB
Employees	170
Annual budget	£0 (2013-2014) (taxpayer liability only)
Non-ministerial government department executive	Martin Clarke, Government Actuary
Website	www.gov.uk/gad

The Government Actuary’s Department (GAD) is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for providing actuarial advice to public sector clients. It describes itself as providing "Actuarial analysis - For the public sector - From the public sector".

The services GAD provides are:

• Actuarial valuations and advice for public sector pension schemes;
• Advice to the Government on occupational pension schemes and on private pensions policy;
• Advice on the pension aspects of staff transfers from the public sector;
• Advice to the UK government and overseas organisations on their social security arrangements and actuarial reviews of the National Insurance fund;
• Advice on investment-related issues including investment risk management strategies, and on project and enterprise risk; and
• Other actuarial and statistical advice on areas, including statistical analysis, healthcare financing and actuarial training.

History

In 1912 the Government appointed a chief actuary to the National Health Insurance Joint Committee, following the Old Age Pensions Act 1908 and the National Insurance Act 1911. As the role of the Chief Actuary expanded the post of Government Actuary was created in 1917. Two years later the Government Actuary’s Department was formed.

The role of GAD within government expanded significantly in the 1940s and 1950s, coinciding with an expansion of the state’s role in pensions, social security and health care. By the 1980s GAD had grown into a significant actuarial consultancy within government and in 1989 the financing of GAD through an annual Parliamentary vote of funds was replaced by a system of directly charging users of GAD’s services. The calculation of GAD's fees is based solely on the recovery of its costs.

Today, GAD has offices in London and Edinburgh and employs 170 staff of whom 70 are qualified actuaries.

Government actuaries

• May 1917 – May 1936: Sir Alfred Watson KCB
• May 1936 – Nov 1944: Sir George Epps KBE
• Dec 1944 – Aug 1946: Sir Percy Harvey KBE, CB
• Aug 1946 – Mar 1958: Sir George Maddex KBE
• Apr 1958 – Apr 1973: Sir Herbert Tetley KBE, CB
• May 1973 – Apr 1989: Sir Edward Johnston KBE, CB
• Apr 1989 – Oct 2007: Christopher Daykin CB
• May 2008 – Aug 2014: Trevor Llanwarne CB
• Aug 2014 – Present : Martin Clarke

External links

• Official site