Society of Actuaries
The Society of Actuaries is a global professional organization that develops actuaries through education, credentials, research, and professional standards.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
The Society of Actuaries (SOA) is a professional organization serving actuaries and actuarial candidates, with a primary base in the United States and an international membership. Its work centers on education, professional qualification, continuing development, research, and public communication about financial risk. The organization supports actuarial practice in life insurance, health insurance, retirement and pensions, investments, enterprise risk management, finance, and selected general-insurance applications. It is a full member organization of the International Actuarial Association. The SOA was created in 1949 through the merger of two established American actuarial bodies: the Actuarial Society of America, founded in 1889, and the American Institute of Actuaries, founded in 1909. Both predecessor organizations were closely associated with life insurance and had developed formal systems for professional qualification. Their merger consolidated much of the United States life-actuarial profession while leaving the Casualty Actuarial Society as a separate specialist body for property and casualty actuarial work. The society's principal professional pathway leads to the Associate of the Society of Actuaries (ASA) and Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA) designations. Candidates generally complete a demanding combination of examinations, educational modules, subject validations, professionalism requirements, and fellowship-specific assessments. The curriculum covers probability, financial mathematics, statistics, insurance models, predictive analytics, economics, finance, actuarial modeling, communication, and professional judgment. Fellowship candidates select from practice areas including corporate finance and enterprise risk management, investments, individual life insurance and annuities, retirement benefits, group and health insurance, and general insurance. The SOA also awards the Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst (CERA) credential and has introduced shorter educational credentials, including Pre-Actuarial Foundations, Actuarial Science Foundations, and Data Science for Actuaries. These offerings reflect the profession's expanding responsibilities in data analysis, financial modeling, risk governance, and technology-enabled decision-making. The society's membership exceeds 30,000 actuaries according to the cited reference material, although membership totals can change over time. Beyond credentialing, the SOA publishes research, supports professional sections and communities, produces educational content, and contributes to discussion of public-policy and financial-risk issues. Its stated purpose is to promote actuaries as leaders in assessing and managing risk in ways that improve financial outcomes for individuals, institutions, and the public. A 2008 branding campaign with Golin sought to present actuarial work as more relevant and strategically influential, using the slogan “Risk is Opportunity.” In 2024, the organization moved its headquarters to Chicago, reconnecting its administrative base with one of the historic centers of American actuarial activity. The SOA remains an active membership and credentialing institution rather than a commercial consumer brand.
History
The Society of Actuaries is the product of a long institutional development within North American actuarial practice. Its oldest predecessor, the Actuarial Society of America, was established in New York City in 1889 with 38 members. It was the first actuarial professional association in North America. Although early membership was initially invitation-based, the organization moved toward formal examination as a means of qualification. The first Fellow to qualify through examinations joined in 1900, helping establish the examination-centered professional model that later became characteristic of the SOA. The American Institute of Actuaries was formed in 1909 in Chicago. It drew much of its membership from life-insurance organizations in the Midwest and South. Both it and the Actuarial Society of America were principally concerned with life insurance actuarial work, although their membership and activities increasingly overlapped. The growth of actuarial practice also produced specialized institutions, including the Casualty Actuarial Society and the Fraternal Actuarial Association. The Casualty Actuarial Society continues as a separate organization focused primarily on property and casualty work, while the Fraternal Actuarial Association later dissolved. By the time the two major life-actuarial organizations merged in 1949, the number of recognized professional actuaries had grown from the 38 members of the earliest association to more than 1,000. The merger created the Society of Actuaries and consolidated a large part of the American life-actuarial profession. The new society inherited the predecessor bodies' emphasis on examinations, professional competence, and actuarial contributions to insurance and financial institutions. Over subsequent decades, the SOA expanded its scope beyond traditional life insurance. Its recognized practice areas came to include health insurance, retirement and pensions, investment and finance, enterprise risk management, and selected general-insurance applications. The organization's role likewise broadened from examination administration to a complete professional-development system involving credentials, continuing education, research, conferences, publications, sections, and policy-oriented analysis. The modern credential structure includes the Associate of the Society of Actuaries designation and the more advanced Fellow of the Society of Actuaries designation. The society also created the Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst credential in 2007 as enterprise risk management became a more distinct professional field. During the same period, the SOA introduced practical and technology-oriented education, including the Fundamentals of Actuarial Practice program and Validation by Educational Experience requirements. The education system has been repeatedly revised. Preliminary examinations were significantly reworked in 2000 and later updated in 2018 and 2023. These changes incorporated predictive analytics and adjusted the balance of subjects across long-term and short-term insurance applications. The fellowship structure also evolved, with candidates choosing from specialist tracks covering corporate finance and enterprise risk management, investments, individual life insurance and annuities, retirement benefits, group and health insurance, and general insurance. In 2022 and 2023, the SOA added shorter credentials and new foundational and predictive-analytics modules, reflecting the changing technical requirements of actuarial work. The society has also invested in its public identity. In partnership with Golin, it ran a campaign to make the profession more visible and to present actuaries as strategic advisers on uncertainty. The campaign used the message “Risk is Opportunity” and received PRWeek's 2008 Corporate Branding Campaign of the Year award. In 2024, the SOA moved its headquarters to Chicago. It continues to operate as an active professional membership organization with a large global community, serving candidates, credentialed actuaries, employers, educators, and users of actuarial research.
- 2024
Headquarters relocated to Chicago
[1]The society moved its headquarters to Chicago, Illinois.
- 2023
Education pathway redesigned
[2]New foundational and predictive-analytics modules were added, and the structure of the Fundamentals of Actuarial Practice program was changed.
- 2022
Micro-credentials and affiliate membership introduced
[1]The SOA added shorter credentials in foundational actuarial and data-science subjects and created an affiliate membership category.
- 2018
Education and fellowship pathways revised
[1]The society updated preliminary examinations, VEE subjects, and fellowship tracks, with greater attention to predictive analytics.
- 2008
Brand campaign receives PRWeek recognition
[1]The SOA and Golin won Corporate Branding Campaign of the Year for work promoting the profession's strategic role.
- 2007
CERA credential and Fundamentals of Actuarial Practice introduced
[1]The SOA expanded its credential portfolio into enterprise risk management and added a practical learning program for candidates.
- 2005
Validation by Educational Experience introduced
[1]VEE requirements added verified coursework in supporting subjects to the credentialing pathway.
- 2000
Preliminary examination system established in its modern form
[1]The SOA adopted a modernized structure for its early actuarial examinations, which was subsequently revised several times.
- 1949
Society of Actuaries established
[1]The Actuarial Society of America and American Institute of Actuaries merged to form the SOA.
- 1909
American Institute of Actuaries founded
[1]A second major American actuarial association was formed in Chicago, with strong representation from life insurers in the Midwest and South.
Products and positioning
A leading professional and educational body for actuaries working with long-term financial risk, insurance, retirement, investments, and enterprise risk management. The SOA positions actuaries as analytical professionals who translate uncertainty into practical financial and risk-management decisions.
Professional designation
Associate of the Society of Actuaries
The ASA is the SOA's associate-level professional designation. Candidates complete a sequence of examinations and educational requirements covering probability, financial mathematics, statistics, actuarial models, predictive analytics, economics, finance, professionalism, and communication. The pathway is intended to establish core actuarial competence before candidates proceed to specialized fellowship work.
Professional designation
Fellow of the Society of Actuaries
The FSA is the SOA's advanced fellowship designation. Candidates complete upper-level examinations and modules in a selected practice track, with subjects covering areas such as life insurance, annuities, retirement benefits, group and health insurance, investments, enterprise risk management, corporate finance, and general insurance. The pathway also includes decision-making, communication, and fellowship-admissions requirements.
Professional credential · 2007
Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst
CERA is an enterprise-risk-management credential introduced by the SOA in 2007. It extends actuarial education into the identification, measurement, governance, and communication of risks across organizations, rather than limiting the professional focus to traditional insurance liabilities.
Professional examinations
Actuarial examinations
The SOA examination system is a central component of actuarial qualification. Early examinations cover mathematical and statistical foundations, financial mathematics, life contingencies, risk models, and predictive analytics. Advanced examinations address specialized insurance, retirement, investment, finance, and enterprise-risk topics. The system has been revised over time to reflect changes in actuarial practice.
Online professional education · 2007
Fundamentals of Actuarial Practice
Fundamentals of Actuarial Practice is a practical learning component covering real-world insurance, actuarial work, professionalism, case analysis, and applied judgment. It replaced earlier course structures and has itself been shortened and revised as part of later education-pathway redesigns.
Research and professional information
Actuarial research and publications
The SOA produces research, professional articles, educational materials, and publications addressing actuarial trends, insurance, retirement, health, investments, enterprise risk, public policy, and emerging analytical methods. These resources support members, employers, educators, policymakers, and other users of actuarial analysis.
Marketing campaigns
- 2008Risk is Opportunity
United States
The SOA worked with public-relations firm Golin on a campaign to refresh the image of the actuarial profession and communicate that actuaries contribute strategic insight, not only technical calculations. The campaign used the “Risk is Opportunity” message.
Outcome. The campaign won PRWeek's Corporate Branding Campaign of the Year award.
Brand decisions
2024
Relocate headquarters to ChicagoStrategyBackground
Chicago has longstanding connections to the American insurance and actuarial industries and was the historic home of the American Institute of Actuaries.
Action taken
The SOA moved its headquarters to Chicago, Illinois.
Aftermath
The relocation established Chicago as the organization's administrative headquarters and connected its present operations with an important part of its institutional history.
2023
Redesign the actuarial education pathwayStrategyBackground
The SOA continued adapting its qualification system to predictive analytics, technology, and changing expectations for actuarial candidates.
Action taken
The organization added new e-learning components, including foundational and advanced predictive-analytics modules, and reduced the Fundamentals of Actuarial Practice program to five modules with a final assessment.
Aftermath
The redesigned pathway placed more explicit emphasis on applied digital and analytical skills while retaining examinations and professional requirements.
2022
Expand into micro-credentialsProduct launchBackground
The organization sought to provide more flexible entry and skills-development options alongside its established professional designations.
Action taken
The SOA introduced micro-credentials in Pre-Actuarial Foundations, Actuarial Science Foundations, and Data Science for Actuaries, together with affiliate membership.
Aftermath
The credential portfolio became more modular and accessible to people at different stages of actuarial education and data-oriented professional development.
2018
Revise preliminary examinations and fellowship tracksGeneration changeBackground
Changes in data analysis, predictive modeling, insurance products, and actuarial practice required updates to the established education structure.
Action taken
The SOA revised preliminary examinations, changed Validation by Educational Experience subjects, and updated fellowship tracks while increasing the role of predictive analytics.
Aftermath
The curriculum placed greater emphasis on modern analytical capabilities and adjusted the balance between long-term and short-term insurance applications.
2007
Introduce the Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst credentialProduct launchBackground
Enterprise risk management was becoming a distinct area of organizational governance and financial practice, creating demand for actuarial training that addressed risks across the whole enterprise.
Action taken
The SOA introduced the CERA credential as an additional professional qualification focused on enterprise risk management.
Aftermath
The credential broadened the society's offering beyond the traditional ASA and FSA designations and reinforced its role in risk-management education.
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