Membership & Education
A Career as an Actuary
Canadian Enrollment Information
Please see the Notices section of the CIA Membership & Education website for additional information.
ENROLLMENT WITH THE INSTITUTE
A person may enroll with the Institute as a Fellow, a Correspondent, Associate or Affiliate. Subject to the payment of dues, the enrollment requirements for each category are described below. These requirements have been established in accordance with Bylaws of the Institute. The requirements described below are those in effect as of the date of publication of this information. However, with the Board's approval, the Institute reserves the right to modify these requirements at any time and without notice. Such modifications may be made with respect to individual applicants or all applicants.
Fellow
Section A - Current Bylaws on Qualification Requirements for Fellowship
Enrollment as a Fellow of the Institute could be obtained under one of the following routes:
1. Conventional Route
In accordance with the Bylaw on conventional route, a person who:
- successfully completes, to the EEC's satisfaction, such examinations, courses and professional development requirements given or approved by the Institute, as may be prescribed by the Board, from time to time, and
- completes, to the EEC's satisfaction, a three-year period of practical actuarial work experience, including such Canadian practical actuarial work experience as may be prescribed by the Board from time to time, shall meet the qualification requirements for the purposes of becoming a Fellow of the Institute.
2. Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) Route
In accordance with the Bylaw on mutual recognition agreement route, a person who is a Fellow of an actuarial organization with which the Institute has entered into a Mutual Recognition Agreement, by virtue of completing the examinations and any other qualification requirements of that organization, and who:
- successfully completes, to the EEC's satisfaction, such examinations, courses and professional development requirements given or approved by the Institute, as may be prescribed by the Board, from time to time, and
- completes, to the EEC's satisfaction, a three-year period of practical actuarial work experience, including such Canadian practical actuarial work experience as may be prescribed by the Board from time to time, shall meet the qualification requirements for the purposes of becoming a Fellow of the Institute.
3. Affiliate Route
In accordance with the Bylaw on Affiliate route, a person who is an Affiliate and who:
- successfully completes, to the EEC's satisfaction, such examinations, courses and professional development requirements given or approved by the Institute, as may be prescribed by the Board, from time to time, and
- completes, to the EEC's satisfaction, a three-year period of practical actuarial work experience, including such Canadian practical actuarial work experience as may be prescribed by the Board from time to time, shall meet the qualification requirements for the purposes of becoming a Fellow of the Institute.
Section B - Current Policy on Education and Work Experience Requirements
1. Education Requirements
The following summarizes the current education requirements referred in Section A above for each route:
- To satisfy the education requirements under paragraph A1(a) above, a person must have either:
- To satisfy the education requirements under paragraph A2(a) above, a person must have successfully completed the Canadian Institute of Actuaries' PEC or the Casualty Actuarial Society Part 7C exam and CIA Professionalism Workshop, as applicable. In accordance with the MRAs, the candidate must be enrolled as an Affiliate while completing the education requirements and the Canadian work experience requirements described below.
- To satisfy the education requirements under A3(a) above, a person must have:
- (i) successfully completed the Canadian Institutes of Actuaries' PEC or the Casualty Actuarial Society Part 7C exam and the CIA Professionalism Workshop, as applicable, and
- (ii) any other educational requirements determined on a case by case basis by the Eligibility Committee after an evaluation of the applicant's educational background.
A photocopy of the applicant's diploma shall accompany the Fellowship application.
2. Work Experience Requirement
Applicants for Fellowship in the Institute must, at the time of their application, meet two experience standards: the Professional Experience Standard and the Canadian Experience Standard.
Professional Experience Standard
A person must establish to the EEC's satisfaction that he/she has completed a three-year period of practical experience in full-time actuarial work during the ten-year period immediately prior to application. Full-time is defined as working 35 hours or more per week. The specifics of this experience must be set out in detail and certified by a Fellow (or someone of equivalent status) of one of the actuarial organizations currently recognized in the Education Requirements above.
Canadian Experience Standard
A person must establish to the EEC's satisfaction that he/she has gained at least eighteen (18) person months of specifically Canadian practical actuarial work experience within the three-year period immediately prior to the person’s application for Fellowship. A person month shall be based on a 35-hour week or more. The 18-month period used to satisfy this standard may be part of the three-year period used to satisfy the Professional Experience Standard. The specifics of this experience must be set out in detail and certified by an FCIA.
Canadian residency and/or working for a Canadian company are not in themselves sufficient to demonstrate satisfaction of this standard. Only experience that is deemed Canadian and certified by an FCIA would meet the Canadian Experience Standard. Candidates whose work experiences encompass both Canadian and foreign work should calculate Canadian work on a pro-rated basis using 35 hours per week as the basis for full-time Canadian work. For example, an applicant averaging 21 hours a week on Canadian work should count 60 percent of full-time work as Canadian. Therefore, in order to obtain 18 person months of Canadian work experience in the past three years, the candidate would have to accumulate this experience over a period of 30 months. For these situations, the written descriptions mentioned above should provide details on the percentages of time and the nature of the Canadian and foreign work.
The practical means of satisfying both the requirements above are:
- The applicant should transcribe the specifics of their actuarial work used to meet each of the work experience requirements above. The work description should include the positions held, company, location, dates, supervisors, the nature of the actuarial work as well as details of duties and responsibilities. The level of detail should be similar to a professional résumé.
- The applicant should select a professional actuary who is thoroughly familiar with the work to certify the accuracy of the work description, and certify that the experience is sufficient to meet the work experience requirements above. It will be appropriate for the applicant to have more than one professional actuary certify to the accuracy of the work description where the experience encompasses several employers, positions or supervisors. In circumstances where it is not reasonable to obtain certification from one actuary for work performed under their direction, another actuary may attest to the practical experience with appropriate disclosure of the nature of their familiarity of the work performed.
- The selected actuary(ies) should attach a certification letter to the work description. For the Professional Experience Standard the experience must be certified by a Fellow (or someone of equivalent status) of one of the actuarial organizations currently recognized in the Education Requirements above. The specifics of the Canadian experience must be certified by an FCIA.
- The certification letter and work description should accompany the Fellowship application form.
It should be noted that under certain circumstances, additional information or documentation may be requested from the Committee on Eligibility.
3. Additional guidelines for the Experience Requirement
Part-time work
Work experience obtained through part-time work should be calculated on a pro-rated basis using 35 hours per week as the basis for full-time work. For example, an applicant working 21 hours a week should count 60 percent of full-time work. Therefore, in order to obtain 18 person months of work experience in the past three years, the candidate would have to accumulate this experience over a period of 30 months.
Foreign work
If a candidate leaves the country in order to pursue work experience abroad, only experience that is deemed Canadian and certified by an FCIA would meet the Canadian Experience Standard. Any previous Canadian experience, gained beyond the three-year maximum period, prior to leaving the country, will expire and not be deemed eligible. No exceptions will be made under these circumstances. The work experience must be current and fall within the established guidelines.
Co-op programs and summer internships
Work experience gained through co-op or summer internship programs can be deemed eligible to satisfy the Experience Requirement, to a maximum of 50 percent of the total experience required (i.e., If 18 person-months of Canadian experience is required, the maximum work experience gained through this type of work can only count for nine person-months.)
Actuarial research
Actuarial research can be deemed eligible to satisfy the Experience Requirement. This experience would need to be certified as actuarial work by a fully qualified actuary.
Teaching actuarial science at a university
This type of work experience can be deemed eligible to satisfy the Experience Requirement. However, the candidate, while teaching, would also be required to have been involved in actuarial research. This experience would need to be certified by a fully qualified actuary.
Leaves of absences
Medical, maternity, parental and sick leaves will be recognized by the CIA, according to the statutory guidelines set by the government (for maternity and parental leaves), or according to a medical certificate or other proof provided by the candidate indicating the duration of the leave. Should a qualifying leave of absence take place during the work experience period of a candidate, the period during which work experience can be obtained will be extended prospectively from the date of the application by the length of the leave up to a maximum of two years.
Example: A candidate submits an application for Fellowship dated January 1, 2007. Based on the three-year period immediately prior to the application date, the 36-month period of eligible Canadian work experience for the candidate begins on January 1, 2004. The candidate was on a one-year maternity/paternity leave (as per statutory guideline) from January 2004 to December 2004, returned to full-time work from January 2005 to June 2005, had a second period of maternity/paternity leave from July 2005 to June 2006, and subsequently worked full-time since July 2006.
As of the application date (January 1, 2007), the candidate had obtained 12 months of eligible Canadian work experience for the previous 36-month period. According to the leave of absence policy, the candidate would be entitled to an additional 24-month period, starting from the application date and ending January 1, 2009, to accumulate the missing six months of Canadian work experience. The candidate would retain the 12 months of experience indicated in the application, but to compensate for the 24-month maternity/paternity leave, the candidate would be given until January 1, 2009 to accumulate the additional Canadian work experience. The candidate could not, however, count any experience obtained prior to January 1, 2004.
Elective leaves of absence (i.e., extended maternity leave beyond statutory guideline) would not be recognized by the CIA and no extension would be granted under such circumstances.
Leaves of absence due to involuntary unemployment will be reviewed on a case by case basis.
Affiliate
Affiliate Status was adopted in order to provide a more general and open process of enrolment for fully qualified foreign actuaries who wish to practise in Canada. Enrollment as an Affiliate of the Institute requires an initial assessment of the individual qualifications of the candidate in order to determine the equivalency of the education and experience to the standards of the CIA. A customized program, based on the requirements of the CIA and the initial assessment of the candidate's qualifications, will be set for each Affiliate of the CIA who wishes to pursue Fellowship. Further information on this category of enrolment can be obtained by contacting the Director of Volunteer and Member Services.
Associate
Enrollment as an Associate of the Institute requires that the individual have credit for exams P, FM, M/3 and C and all VEE components of the Society of Actuaries or of the Casualty Actuarial Society or equivalent exams through another recognized actuarial association. Further information can be obtained by contacting the Membership Department of the Institute.
Correspondent
Enrollment as a Correspondent of the Institute requires that the candidate be a fully qualified actuary in his or her country of residence.
revised October 2004
WAIVER OF DUES
All waivers and deferrals will be based on status as of June 1, the date annual dues are payable, and must be confirmed by Council. Requests should include appropriate proof of status (where applicable) and should reach the Secretariat no later than June 1 (except as noted).
The following terms and conditions for a waiver of dues are in effect for a 12-month period commencing June 1. Such approval will normally be automatic under any of the following circumstances:
Category 1 - Retirement
A waiver of dues may be granted under one of the two following options
- Age plus number of years of enrollment in the CIA total 75 or more, and the person is no longer practising as an actuary for financial gain. Annual confirmation of status is not required, but the enrollee is dropped from the role if unable to locate for two years.
- Age plus number of years of enrollment in the CIA total 75 or more, and the gross annual income earned from work requiring actuarial expertise is not greater than $15,000. Annual confirmation of status is required.
Category 2 - Disability
A waiver of dues may be granted to a person who is disabled according to the CPP/QPP definition or according to the definition in the equivalent statutory program where the person is resident.
Category 3 - Parental leave
A person enrolled in the Institute may only apply for a waiver of dues under this category once a waiting period has elapsed. This waiting period is equal to the Employment Insurance period of benefits where the person is resident (i.e., A person cannot request a waiver of dues under this category while still receiving government benefits for parental leave.) As well, the gross annual income earned from work requiring actuarial expertise must not exceed $15,000 during the waiver period. A one-time administrative fee of $100 will be required from all first-time applicants to the Institute. This will cover the cost of admission into the Institute.
Category 4 - Full-time student in a post-secondary institution
All applicants must complete a separate form and have it signed by the Registrar of the University in order for their waiver of fees to be processed. This form may be obtained from the CIA Membership Department or on the CIA website. A one-time administrative fee of $100 will be required from all first-time applicants to the Institute. This will cover the cost of admission into the Institute.
* Due to the possibility of late registration for university courses, requests for a waiver under Category 4 will be accepted until August 31.
Category 5 - Has reached the age of 70 years
Category 6 - Unemployment
A person enrolled in the Institute may request a waiver of current dues if they are unemployed, actively seeking employment at the time the dues become payable, and their current year's gross annual income earned from work requiring actuarial expertise will not exceed $15,000 during the waiver period. This waiver will terminate if the applicant becomes employed during the year (June 1 to May 31), at which time the current year's dues become payable on a proportional basis. A one-time administrative fee of $100 will be required from all first-time applicants to the Institute. This will cover the cost of admission into the Institute.
Publications Policy
Each waiver category is entitled to receive documents electronically via the CIA announcements listserver and website free of charge. Should a person wish to receive their documents in paper format, a surcharge of $95 will apply.
RESIGNATION FROM THE INSTITUTE
Resignations must be received at the Secretariat prior to June 1. Persons applying to resign after June 1 will be assessed a monthly service charge for each full or partial month from June 1 to the effective date of resignation. Further details may be obtained from the Secretariat.
TERMINATION OF MEMBERSHIP OR ENROLLMENT
Failure to pay the annual dues and applicable penalty fees or service charges prior to August 31 will result in termination of membership or enrollment according to CIA Bylaw 8.02.
DESIGNATION
Fellows of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries are authorized to append to their names the initials FCIA (Fellow, Canadian Institute of Actuaries) or FICA (Fellow, Institut canadien des actuaires).
