IFoA PPD Scheme Explained: Requirements, Competencies & Formal Learning Hours
As a Student Actuary of IFoA, you are required to fulfil Personal and Professional Development (PPD) requirements to attain both Associateship and Fellowship. These requirements are mandatory, meaning that no matter what stage you are in your qualification progress, as a working professional, PPD is an additional requirement beyond your exams.
But what exactly is PPD? How many credits do you need? Can you seek exemption from IFoA PPD? What activities can you record? What are the mandatory competencies? How should you write your PPD entries? And what happens if you miss your annual deadline?
This guide explains the IFoA Personal and Professional Development (PPD) Scheme in detail, so you can understand exactly what you need to do throughout your actuarial journey and avoid last-minute problems.
PPD requirements can change. This article is based on the current IFoA guidance available at the time of publication. Students should always check the latest requirements on the official IFoA website before making qualification or exam-booking decisions.
What is IFOA PPD?
PPD stands for Personal and Professional Development.
While the IFOA exams assess your technical knowledge and ability to apply conceptual understanding to practical, exam-based scenarios, PPD focuses on demonstrating how effectively you can apply that knowledge and develop the professional skills required in the workplace.
PPD aims to provide a balanced approach to learning, combining knowledge gained through exams with practical experience developed on the job. You are expected to reflect on your work, on experiences that allowed you to build your professional, business, decision-making and communication skills. You are also expected to reflect on your professional and ethical responsibilities while identifying areas of improvement.
All Students working towards becoming an Associate or a Fellow must complete annual PPD requirements. Each year, you are required to meet a minimum number of credits, divided between ‘PPD credits‘ and ‘Formal Learning Hours‘.
What are PPD Credits?
You will have an individual annual deadline for submitting your PPD records, which is typically based on the date you joined the IFoA. This is called your ‘annual PPD deadline date’.
IFoA provides more than 30 competencies to choose from, representing different types of work or activities you may undertake as part of your role. Each competency carries a specific number of credits, which contribute towards meeting your annual minimum PPD requirements and, ultimately, the overall requirements for achieving your IFoA qualification.
The IFoA’s PPD competencies are divided into three key objective categories:
Effective Communication
This focuses on your ability to communicate effectively with different audiences.
- Presenting actuarial results
- Explaining technical concepts to non-technical audiences
- Preparing reports
- Communicating with clients and stakeholders
- Adapting your communication to different audiences
Presenting the results of an actuarial analysis to a business team could demonstrate a communication competency.
Problem Solving & Decision Making
This focuses on how you analyse problems, assess information and develop appropriate solutions.
- Analysing data
- Developing or validating models
- Assessing stakeholder requirements
- Evaluating different solutions
- Applying actuarial concepts to business problems
- Making recommendations based on analysis
Professionalism
This area focuses on your understanding of professional responsibilities and ethical practice.
- Applying professional standards
- Considering ethical issues
- Participating in peer review
- Understanding your responsibilities as an actuary
- Considering the quality and limitations of your work
The IFoA expects students to build a broad range of competencies across all three areas rather than repeatedly recording the same type of experience every year.
For details on what type of work you can include under each competency and what credits you can gain under each competency,
refer here.
PPD Credits – Mandatory Competencies
There are four mandatory competencies that students need to complete:
These competencies are NOT expected to be completed every single year.
The idea is simple: when you apply for Associateship, you must have completed each of these competencies once across all the years of PPD you have submitted to date.
What are Formal Learning Hours?
PPD isn’t only about collecting competency credits. You also need to record hours for formal learning.
For current students, the requirement is generally 2 hours of formal learning per PPD year.
Examples of activities that may count include:
$\bullet \quad$Actuarial seminars
$\bullet \quad$Technical or business presentations
$\bullet \quad$Company-arranged training
$\bullet \quad$Meetings of local actuarial societies
$\bullet \quad$Actuarial-related seminars
Formal learning for PPD must be separate from your actuarial examinations and activities you have completed for CPD.
So, studying for your IFoA exams does not allow you to count those study hours towards your PPD formal learning requirement.
What Are The Minimum PPD Requirements?
For students who joined the IFoA on or after 2 January 2019, the PPD requirements are as follows:
To qualify as an Associate
| Requirement | Minimum |
|---|---|
| PPD period | 24 months |
| Total PPD credits | 15 credits |
| Minimum credits per year | 3 credits |
| Formal learning | 2 hours per year |
You must also complete the required mandatory competencies as part of your PPD.
To progress to Fellow
After becoming an Associate, you need a further:
| Requirement | Minimum |
|---|---|
| Additional PPD period | 12 months |
| Additional PPD credits | 5 credits |
| Minimum credits during the 12 months | 3 credits |
| Formal learning | 2 additional hours |
If your Fellowship exams extend beyond 12 months and you therefore submit more than 12 months of PPD, you must achieve a minimum of 3 credits for each additional PPD year.
You must first qualify as an Associate before applying for Fellowship. In simple words, you need to hold Associate status for at least one year and complete that additional year’s PPD requirements after becoming an Associate before you can qualify as a Fellow.
For students who joined the IFoA before 2 January 2019, the PPD requirements are summarised below:
| Qualification | Minimum PPD period |
Minimum credits |
Minimum credits per year |
Formal learning activity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Associate | 12 months | 10 | 3 | 2 hours |
| Fellow | 36 months | 20 | 3 | 6 hours (2 per year) |
For this category of students, obtaining Associate status is not mandatory before applying for Fellowship.
In simple words, students can qualify directly as a Fellow by completing all 13 exams and fulfilling the PPD requirements for Fellowship.
Ending Remarks
When it comes to PPD, always remember the following:
$\bullet \quad$Know your requirements.
$\bullet \quad$Build experience across the three competency areas.
$\bullet \quad$Complete your mandatory competencies.
$\bullet \quad$Track your formal learning.
$\bullet \quad$Don’t leave PPD until the last minute.
Coming Up in Part 2
Knowing the requirements is only the first step. The next question is:
What should you actually write in your PPD record?
In Part 2 of our IFoA PPD guide, we’ll cover how to write a PPD entry, what makes a strong learning outcome, how to manage your PPD throughout the year, and when you may be able to seek a PPD exemption.
