Actuaries in the News

[The_Polymath]

Another Actuary came up in a really good FT article on investment that I had honestly never heard of. Article is free to read.

My early education in investment started in the great bull market of the late 1960s, in which a heady pace was set by the so-called Nifty Fifty growth stocks on the New York Stock Exchange. In the brief period I spent in the City of London, becoming a chartered accountant, I had the good fortune to be sent on the audit of the Imperial Tobacco pension fund. This was run by one of the great investment gurus of the postwar period, the actuary George Ross Goobey.

When Ross Goobey went to the Imperial fund in 1947, pension funds were mainly invested in gilt-edged securities, which were regarded as safer than equities. In his view this was a nonsense.

Lessons from a lifetime in investment - Lessons from a lifetime in investment via @FT

[Maphistos_Sidekick]

It’s an OpEd column, rather than actual news, but…

Opinion | Why not pay teachers $100,000 a year?

The Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank, calls this difference the “teacher pay penalty.” EPI calculated that, in 2022, teachers earned only 74 cents on the dollar compared with comparably educated professionals. The right-leaning Hoover Institution reached a similar conclusion in its 2020 report on educator compensation, showing that, even adjusting for factors such as talent and experience, “teachers are paid 22 percent less than they would be if they were in jobs in the U.S. economy outside of teaching.”

Nothing against actuaries (median salary: $113,990), but isn’t helping a first-grader learn to read as valuable as assessing insurance premiums on your Hyundai Elantra?

[dr_t_non-fan]

Nice shout-out, but the question really is, “how many current teachers deserve to be paid that much, and what will those who do not deserve it do instead for work?”

I’m sure some do, but how many?

[knoath]

I did a little comparison of primary teacher income to median income by country. Not quite comparing apples to apples as the teacher salary was the average gross income (for primary education with 15 years experience). I would assume that median is pretty close to mean for teachers. The median income by country is by disposable income. This would move United States up a little higher from its low position given its lower taxes. I only included countries in both lists (no UK).

Teachers - Teachers' salaries - OECD Data

Median income

[twig93]

Luxembourg is generally considered to have the best public schools in the world… and small wonder. It used to be the case that teachers were better paid than doctors. I’m not sure if that’s still true. Based on what I’ve learned about Luxembourgish schools, I’m actually surprised that the teachers only make $105K. But I think they also have a pretty generous pension.

Oh, and that’s just primary… guessing secondary pays more in Luxembourg, and probably less in the US as there’s likely more burnout at the secondary level and teacher pay is a function of longevity.

[Cooke]

You generally get what you pay for in education? Germany has excellent education so not surprised it is near the top.

Canada is about where I figured it would be: teachers are paid relatively more than in the US. I was impressed with the teachers at the public schools our kids went to.

[Ted_Hoffman]

Not really news per se, or calling out an actuary specifically, but this is … well, just watch.

[The money comment is at 7:09.]

Doug Armstrong comments on the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline

[knoath]

Wow! Maybe they finally see us! Next up, we should have a prime time drama series. Perhaps -

CSA (Crime Scene Actuarializing),
The Night Actuary
Designated Actuary
Law and Order: Actuarial Department
Next Level Actuary.