Academy Helps NYC Honor 100 Years of Actuarial Public Service and Professional Excellence

By Tom Wildsmith
President, American Academy of Actuaries

The following appeared in the May issue of Actuarial Update.

Wildsmith—in front of a portrait of George Buck, New York City’s first chief actuary—holds a copy of the city’s 1916 pension report.

Academy President Tom Wildsmith participated in a New York City Office of the Actuary dedication ceremony on May 16 commemorating the centennial of the city’s Pension Commission investigation, Report on the Pension Funds of the City of New York, Part II.

“The report we are commemorating was a remarkable technical achievement,” Wildsmith said. “But that’s not where its greatest significance lies. It is a landmark example of a dedicated actuary harnessing the tools and techniques of actuarial science in direct service to the public. It was a professional achievement, in all the best senses of that word.”

The origin of their legacy dates back to at least 1913, when New York City had a pension problem and decided to take steps to address it. A biography of the city’s first chief actuary, George Buck, describes the issue this way: “The nine pension funds of the city were in chaotic condition at that time. Pension legislation had been developed largely on the initiative of employees; those groups of employees with the strongest political backing had the most liberal benefits.” In response, Mayor William Jay Gaynor appointed a city Pension Commission, whose groundbreaking work to assess and reform the city’s pension systems included a series of reports. Among them was the 1916 report, which was the first complete actuarial investigation of the systems. It outlined principles for reorganizing the systems and providing actuarial funding.

Wildsmith honored the chief actuaries and cited their work as an inspiring example of public service and professional excellence, and praised them for creating a “legacy of professionalism.”

Other speakers included John Adler, director of the Mayor’s Office of Pensions and Investments and chief pension investment advisor; City Comptroller Scott Stringer; New York City Chief Actuary Sherry Chan; and representatives of other actuarial organizations. Two former chief actuaries and family members of the city’s two deceased chief actuaries also were in attendance.

Stringer and Chan, with the commendation.

Capturing and formalizing the spirit of professionalism has been a major undertaking of the U.S. actuarial profession during the hundred years since that report was published, Wildsmith noted. “We have built a professionalism infrastructure that includes a code of conduct, standards of practice, and disciplinary processes. The Academy was established to create this infrastructure, which plays a vital role in assuring the public that we can, as a profession, be trusted. But as important as these standards and institutions are—and I’m very proud of them—the heart of professionalism remains the commitment of the individual actuary to doing the right thing.”

Comptroller Stringer presented Chan with an official city commendation for “a century of devoted work delivering actuarial information and services for the New York City retirement systems.” The commendation recognizes the essential services and contributions of the office to the city’s employees, its retirement funds and systems, and the city as a whole. Actuarial artifacts from the past hundred years, including an original copy of the 1916 report, were assembled as part of the centennial dedication and are on display in the Office of the Actuary.