The Government Actuary’s Department (GAD) has published its Annual Report and Accounts for 2022 to 2023.

The former Government Actuary Martin Clarke CB oversaw the department during this financial year. He referred to events which lead to greater risks such as geopolitical tensions, the continuing effects of COVID-19 and climate change.

Talking about the contents of the Annual Report and Accounts he said: “In this report we refer to the work we have done on often quite novel financial risks to government which in part reflects this changing landscape.”

Highlight results

The headline results show that:

• GAD’s fee income for 2022 to 2023 was £24.8 million, an all-time high for GAD and an increase of £700,000 on the previous year
• we reviewed the pension records of 16m+ people across 183 scheme sections of 20 public sector pension schemes
• GAD supported 16 out of 24 ministerial departments, along with other public bodies
• we achieved an average rating of 4.7 stars out of 5 by clients in our annual client survey

Supporting government

The Annual Report and Accounts set out how GAD has supported the government across a wide range of policy areas.

We shared substantial expertise to support the multi-departmental response to the McCloud judgment. This included offering user-friendly calculators to help pension scheme members understand the implications of the McCloud remedy.

We also undertook preparations for the 2020 valuations of the public service pension schemes. Also in this financial year, the Government Actuary provided a report to the Work and Pensions Secretary to inform the latest review of the State Pension age.

Throughout the 2022 to 2023 financial year, the department provided a range of support in relation to financial regulation, from the review of insurance insolvency requirements to the reconsideration of defined pension benefit regulation.

Looking ahead

The new Government Actuary, Fiona Dunsire took over her role on 1 November 2023.

In introducing the Annual Report and Accounts, Fiona said: “I look forward to leading the department into its next phase, with continued focus on innovation, being an efficient and relevant partner to government and developing its impact across the public sector.”