In the Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Trillian says “With a degree in maths and another in astrophysics, it was either that [hitch a ride on an alien spacecraft] or back to the dole queue on Monday.” Given my background, I was worried this might suggest I had limited career options but thankfully Douglas Adams didn’t know everything and I’ve found a third way!

An unexpected career choice

Learning astrophysics was a lot of fun, but in my final years of university, I found the practical work pretty dull. There was an awful lot of waiting around for things that might not even happen, which meant you got a lot of coffee breaks but didn’t give a whole lot of job satisfaction. So one day I popped into the careers service and bashed out a personality test to give me some ideas. I’d never heard of an actuary, but it came out top of the list and the more I looked into it, the more I thought “I could do that”. (Second was radio producer – I wonder how that would have panned out?)

I managed to get a graduate role with Barnett Waddingham in Cheltenham. I applied to their London office originally, but they called me back asking if I’d consider an alternative location.  It wasn’t quite what I had planned but I accepted and that’s turned out to be a good tactic throughout my career – being flexible and saying “yes” to things has made lots of opportunities for me!

Early days

The exams were (and are!) hard, but most employers offer great support to help get you through them – or other career paths if you ultimately choose not to complete them. I remember taking my study notes on holidays but still, when I qualified, I thought what’s next?  I even contemplated trying law, because I worried I would miss the extra mental stimulation so much but eventually decided against it.  I find I am still always learning on the job, so there’s plenty to keep that side of me challenged.

I really enjoyed the technical aspects of my role and making sense of 200-page consultation documents, so I joined the group within my company that kept track of changes to law and guidance. I would draft internal and external briefings and after a while, press comments, blogs and tweets too. I had one article translated into Russian which was something of a dream for a space buff!

Changing it up

After 15 years it was time for a change and I applied to a smaller company in the Midlands, Quattro Pensions Consulting. My role there would involve working with schemes entering the Pension Protection Fund, a “lifeboat” fund set up to help members of schemes when a company goes insolvent. I had had some experience with this but wasn’t sure about committing to it as a major part of my role. It turned out to be the right move and years later it remains the (very rewarding) core part of my job! I enjoy working closely with experienced professionals where the main objective is to do the right thing by the members. The PPF trust us to serve increasingly large and complex schemes. And the gender balance in meetings is noticeably more equal – independent trustee firms seem to be more diverse than trustee boards picked from company leaders and scheme members.

At Quattro I also had the opportunity to start managing my own team. We started small and specialist, but due to the success of the business, we grew fast. We’ve seen a lot of change, and in 2021 Quattro was purchased by Broadstone. It was a surprise at the time but my boss took care to explain the reasons for it. Having an honest relationship with people who genuinely care is one of the best parts about working here and that has very much continued as part of Broadstone.

Encouraging the next generation

I now look after over 20 people – which has led to promotions for others to help manage people and workloads.  We also listened to feedback and restructured the team after people asked for greater breadth of experience.  The Broadstone acquisition has led to more opportunities for people on my team – helping make new “best of breed” systems from the tools available across the company and working in wider areas not previously available to us.  I’ve joined the firm’s actuarial committee, scratching that ‘itch’ for technical work, and have also been part of an industry-wide committee looking at professional matters.

I love supporting the “actuaries of the future” and besides involvement in graduate recruitment (which even our newest recruits are encouraged to help with), we have started visiting local schools to talk about the profession. It’s one of the financial sector’s best-kept secrets – and we don’t want it to be secret! We are open to non-traditional routes to join – we have had people move over from our administration teams, and our insurance team have had Broadstone’s first apprentice. You don’t need a degree in maths or actuarial science, as long as you can demonstrate maths ability and have other skills and experiences to draw on so I encourage potential applicants to join that society, or lead a project as it all helps to demonstrate a wider, more rounded skill set.

Looking ahead

It’s an exciting time in the pensions industry, with new rules around how pensions schemes are funded meaning we are looking at our clients from new angles and are involved in even more long term strategic planning. There’s also lots of activity transferring schemes to insurance companies and new styles of scheme design are coming which aim to bridge the gap between extremes of the past to the benefit of both members and companies. With so much innovation there’s lots of new opportunities to explore.

There’s plenty of life in the pensions industry, which will be of comfort to me when I eventually retire – ideally a nice place in Cheshire overlooking Jodrell Bank, where I can watch for that passing alien spaceship…