News story

Deputy Government Actuary is guest speaker at finance conferences in China

Delegates hear how actuaries can help governments address challenges.

Office folder with Pensions label

The Deputy Government Actuary is a keynote speaker at 2 financial conferences in China this week. Colin Wilson is talking about how actuaries and insurers can help governments address some of society’s biggest challenges.

The financial conferences are in Beijing (19 Nov) and Shanghai (21 Nov). This opportunity for the Government Actuary’s Department (GAD) follows a visit by China’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security to GAD earlier this year.

Pensions and annuities

At Beijing’s ‘Dissemination of comparative study on China-UK annuity systems’ conference, Colin spoke about the challenges and possible ways forward for pensions and annuities. Delegates heard about the work that GAD pensions experts consider around issues of fairness, sustainability and adequacy. The conference also learned more about the 3 pillars of the UK pensions system and how these require regular monitoring and review – work which involves GAD and other UK government departments.

Government risk

At Shanghai’s 4th annual ‘Financial Risk Management Forum’, Colin will focus on ‘government, risk and insurers’. Conference attendees will be asked to consider the challenges faced by societies around the world including climate change, inequalities of wealth and changing demographics.

City skyline

Valuable opportunities

Reflecting on his experiences in China, Colin said: “I feel honoured to have been asked to play such an important role in these 2 conferences. I shared real-world examples of where GAD has made a difference such as disaster risk financing, advising on alternatives to commercial insurance for UK academies, and working with Flood Re and the government to help make flood cover policies affordable.

“This has been an invaluable opportunity for me to share the latest insights about the complex and important work GAD’s experts undertake for our clients.”

The Deputy Government Actuary joined a range of other expert speakers from the public sector, academia and the financial services industry.

Published 19 November 2019