Lend Your Actuarial Knowledge to the Elections Process—Vote!

By Ted Gotsch 
Senior Policy Analyst, Content and Publications 

For the past six months, the Academy has used its Election 2024: Issues Clearinghouse as a one-stop shop for members, policymakers, and the broader policy community to find independent, unbiased insights with the actuarial perspective on some of the top policy issues facing this country—retirement security, health care, climate change, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and risk management. 

By highlighting these “mega-issues,” the Academy endeavored to provide some context to some of the concerns and proposals that have been discussed during this important presidential election year. We know that not every elected official and stakeholder has the same level of understanding or experience with the wide range of issues that impact our vital financial security systems.  

The efforts of our volunteers make valuable contributions during this election season by helping everyone who is working to address complex challenges such as the long-term financial health of Social Security and Medicare, better ways of addressing climate risks, or finding the right level of protections while allowing continuing innovation within technologies like artificial intelligence. The value that actuaries bring to these discussions goes beyond modeling or a simple risk analysis. 

With less than a month until Election Day, there is still a window to educate all stakeholders about the issues that a new administration and state officials may be addressing in 2025 and beyond. 

Part of public policy starts well before legislation is drafted or regulations are proposed. It starts with one of the fundamental tenets of America—voting. 

So, to that end, if you are registered, vote! There are many ways to do so. Depending on where you live, not only can you vote on Election Day, but you also might have the option to vote by mail or in person ahead of time. Rules vary depending on your state of residence, but if you go to vote.org, it has all the information you need. 

Candidates up and down the ballot are hearing now from the public ahead of Election Day about the issues they care about. Some of those candidates turn into decision-makers, and being informed—or at least aware of where to go in order to become educated about the actuarial perspective—is incredibly valuable. As actuaries, you can lend particular insight into how these “mega-issues” could be tackled, as well as the implications or potential consequences of making certain choices.  

Rest assured, the Academy will continue its mission to provide the actuarial perspective on these and other key public policy issues after Nov. 5. While the Academy’s Election Issues Clearinghouse will shift some of its focus in the New Year, we’ll continue to share the work and perspectives of our practice councils and committees through this blog, publications produced by our volunteers, and the other content channels the Academy has at its disposal. Stay tuned!