Exam Bulletin - Actuary

State of California

Exam Code: EX-1500

Examination Plans Included:

  • ACTUARY - Open

Final Filing Date: Applications are accepted on a continuous basis.

Classification Details

ACTUARY: $10,114.00 - $13,878.00 per Month

View the ACTUARY classification specification.

Application Instructions

This is not a timed exam. If you request a Reasonable Accommodation your account will be locked and you will not be able to proceed with the exam until the request is processed. 

Applications are accepted on a continuous basis.

Who Should Apply:

The information below will help you determine which classification(s) is(are) appropriate for you. Applicants must meet the Minimum Qualifications as stated on this bulletin to compete in this examination.

Open and Open, Non-Promotional Examination(s):

  • ACTUARY - Open

For all Classifications, once you have participated in any of the following examinations, you may not recompete for 12 months:

Exam Code(s):

    1500

For ACTUARY, once you have participated in any of the following examinations, you may not recompete for 12 months:

Exam Code(s):

  • EX-01500

How To Apply:

Submit an Examination/Employment Application (STD 678) to apply for this examination.

Electronic applications can be submitted through your account at www.CalCareers.ca.gov.

Special Testing Arrangements:

If you require assistance or alternative testing arrangements due to a disability, indicate on your application that you need reasonable accommodation. You will be contacted by a representative of the testing department to make the necessary arrangements. If you have not been contacted by the time you receive notification of testing, please contact the testing department listed in the Contact section of this bulletin.

If you are unable to submit your application or complete the test due to a disability, please contact the testing department listed in the Contact section of this bulletin.

Minimum Qualifications

All applicants must meet the education and/or experience requirements as stated on this exam bulletin to be accepted to the examination.

Unless otherwise stated in the Minimum Qualifications, qualifying experience may be combined on a proportionate basis if the requirements stated below include more than one pattern and are distinguished as "Either" 1, "or" 2, "or" 3, etc. For example, applicants possessing qualifying experience amounting to 50% of the required time of Pattern 1 and additional experience amounting to 50% of the required time of Pattern 2 may be accepted to an examination as meeting 100% of the overall experience requirement.

00105436 - ACTUARY

Education:
Possession of a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university. Registration as a senior in a recognized institution will admit applicants to the examination, but they must produce evidence of graduation or its equivalent before they can be considered eligible for appointment. and

Possession of an Associateship credential with either the SOA or CAS, or an actuarial organization provided mutual recognition by the SOA or CAS; and

Experience:
Either 1
One year of experience in the California state civil service performing duties with a level of responsibility equivalent to an Actuarial Analyst; or

2
One year of analytical and/or technical support experience pertaining to actuarial insurance rate analysis, insurance company examination involving actuarial review, actuarial statistical analysis, pension actuarial analysis, or a related area of work comparable to the Actuarial Analyst classification.

Position Description

00105436 - ACTUARY

This classification is the professional actuary level in the series. Under direction, incumbents may conduct actuarial analyses or valuations to verify the accuracy and reasonability of premiums/contributions, rates, reserves/liability, or other related factors; conduct cash flow testing and analyses of adverse market conditions to ensure appropriate fund reserve levels; review actuarial support for rate filings to determine if the proposed rates have been determined in a manner consistent with actuarial principles and standards of practice, and are in compliance with statutory requirements; analyze organizational and/or fund liability/reserve positions and reasonability using actuarial, statistical and economic principles, practices and methods; conduct or review present value valuations; recommend adjustments to reserves/liability to ensure their consistency with actuarial standards and departmental policies; analyze enacted or proposed California legislation to determine its effect(s) or potential effect(s) on assigned functions; prepare memoranda of proposed actions and recommendations; draft issue papers; prepare agenda items or written/oral reports for senior management, board, or committee meetings, constituent and stakeholder groups, and other interested internal and external parties; review and comment on proposed legislation and regulations to provide technical analysis for potential financial and/or personnel impact on the department and for consequences regarding the insurance and/or pension industry; represent a department or program as a subject matter expert or expert witness before industry committees and/or court cases and hearings as needed; perform special actuarial studies, investigations, and/or analyses at the request of management; present reports to management regarding the operational and financial impact and potential impact of new procedures and laws.

For information regarding position location(s), please refer to the Eligible List Information section.

Examination Information

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This examination consists of the following components:

  • CalHR Online Exam : 100% of the final score.

A final score of 70% must be attained to be placed on the eligible list.

In addition to evaluating the applicant's relative knowledge, skill and ability as demonstrated by quality and breadth of education/experience, emphasis in each test component will be on measuring competitively, relative to job demands, each applicant's:

Knowledge of:
  1. The principles and practices of actuarial science with an emphasis on life, health, disability, casualty or retirement systems 
  2. Actuarial guidelines to ensure compliance with current actuarial practices 
  3. Complete mathematical operations to analyze, process, summarize, verify, or present numerical data 
  4. Statistical procedures such as those related to inferential statistics (probabilities, confidence intervals, correlations, regression, etc.) American Academy of Actuaries standards of practice, economic principles and practices and their application in the analysis of financial operations and solvency
Ability to:
  1. Determine how changes in the legislative and regulatory environment will affect outcomes 
  2. Critically review the assumptions and methods in an actuarial memorandum and/or asset adequacy analysis prepared in support of a Statement of Actuarial Opinion regarding reserves and related actuarial items held in support of insurance policies, annuity contracts, or pension obligations, to determine if financial concerns exist regarding the adequacy of reserves
  3. Review underlying in-force policy data in order to validate rates or reserves reported during an experience review
  4. Perform actuarial and statistical computations to verify rates, cash values, or reserve/liability factors
  5. Apply policies, rules, and regulations to specific situations to solve problems and identify appropriate courses of action

Eligible List Information

A Servicewide Open eligible list for the ACTUARY Classification will be established for:

  • State of California

The names of successful competitors will be merged onto the eligible list(s) in order of final score regardless of test date. Eligibility expires 12 months after it is established. Applicants must then retake the examination to reestablish eligibility.

Resulting Eligibility List(s) will be used to fill vacancies throughout the State of California.

Veterans' Preference will be granted for this examination. Veterans' Preference is an assistance program for veterans, veteran widows and widowers, and spouses of 100% disabled veterans who seek employment with the state. Veterans' Preference is also extended to currently serving military members nearing their retirement or separation date.

You are not eligible for Veteran's Preference if you are:

  • A veteran who has been dishonorably discharged or released.
  • A veteran, widow or widower of a veteran, or spouse of a 100 percent disabled veteran who currently has permanent civil service status. (Permanent civil service status is the status of an employee who is lawfully retained in his/her position after completion of the applicable probationary period. This does not include limited term).

Veterans' Preference is codified in Government Code Sections 18973 – 18979.

Veteran status is verified by the California Department of Human Resources (CalHR). Directions to apply for Veterans' Preference are on the Veterans' Preference Application (Std. Form 1093), which is available at www.CalCareers.ca.gov, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Career Credits are not granted for examination(s) administered on an Open basis or a Promotional basis.

Actuary Training and Experience Exam Preview

Section 1: Tasks

Instructions:

Rate your experience performing specific job-related tasks.

 

Respond to each of the following statements by indicating how the statement applies to you. You are required to respond to every question and provide relevant examples.  Also, indicate the references who can verify the information provided.

 

In responding to each statement, you may refer to your WORK EXPERIENCE, whether paid or volunteer, your EDUCATION, and/or FORMAL TRAINING COURSES you have completed.

 

PLEASE NOTE:  This examination is designed to gain an overall assessment of your education, training, and experience as it directly relates to the duties and the knowledge, skills and abilities required for this position.  Possession of specific education is not required to be successful in this examination; however, such achievements may substitute for desirable levels of experience.  All components of this examination have been carefully validated by tying them directly to job requirements and documenting their relevance to the position.

 

  1. Extracting and reconciling data to be used in actuarial studies.   
  2. Compiling data needed to perform an analysis or validation, including identifying the data and accessing data from multiple electronic or written sources.
  3. Testing and editing data used in the development of actuarial valuations, studies, and models to ensure the completeness and integrity of data.
  4. Reviewing and analyzing data to identify trends, errors, incomplete data, or data anomalies.
  5. Researching and identifying discrepancies in actuarial data, as needed, to ensure the integrity of the data.
  6. Performing the initial analysis of the data and verifying soundness of the data by matching and testing data from various internal and external systems.
  7. Producing statistical summaries and reports to analyze the more complex data using a variety of software and tools.
  8. Conducting preliminary actuarial analyses or valuations to verify the accuracy and reasonability of premiums/contributions, rates, rate changes, reserves/liabilities, or other related factors.
  9. Assisting in the compilation and production of actuarial reports or statistical summaries to describe and document work performed in the organization.

Testing Departments

  • State of California

Contact Information

Questions regarding this examination should be directed to:

State of California
CalCareer Service Center
1810 16th Street
Sacramento, CA 95811
Phone: (866) 844-8671
CalCareer@calhr.ca.gov

California Relay Service: 1-800-735-2929 (TTY), 1-800-735-2922 (Voice). TTY is a Telecommunications Device for the Deaf, and is reachable only from phones equipped with a TTY Device.

Equal Opportunity Employer

The State of California is an equal opportunity employer to all, regardless of age, ancestry, color, disability (mental and physical), exercising the right to family care and medical leave, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, political affiliation, race, religious creed, sex (includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and related medical conditions), and sexual orientation.

Drug Free Statement

It is an objective of the State of California to achieve a drug-free State work place. Any applicant for State employment will be expected to behave in accordance with this objective, because the use of illegal drugs is inconsistent with the law of the State, the rules governing civil service, and the special trust placed in public servants.

General Information

Examination and/or Employment Application (STD 678) forms are available at the California Department of Human Resources, local offices of the Employment Development Department, and through your CalCareer Account (www.CalCareers.ca.gov).

If you meet the requirements stated on this examination bulletin, you may take this examination, which is competitive. Possession of the entrance requirements does not assure a place on the eligible list. Your performance in the examination described in this bulletin will be rated against a predetermined job-related rating, and all applicants who pass will be ranked according to their scores.

State of California reserves the right to revise the examination plan to better meet the needs of the service, if the circumstances under which this examination was planned change. Such revision will be in accordance with civil service laws and rules and all applicants will be notified.

General Qualifications: Applicants must possess essential personal qualifications including integrity, initiative, dependability, good judgment, the ability to work cooperatively with others, and a state of health consistent with the ability to perform the assigned duties of the class. A medical examination may be required. In open examinations, investigation may be made of employment records and personal history and fingerprinting may be required.

Eligible Lists: Eligible lists established by competitive examination, regardless of date, must be used in the following order: 1) sub-divisional promotional, 2) departmental promotional, 3) multi-departmental promotional, 4) service-wide promotional, 5) departmental open, 6) open. When there are two lists of the same kind, the older must be used first. Eligible lists will expire in one to four years unless otherwise stated on the bulletin.

High School Equivalence: Equivalence to completion of the 12th grade may be demonstrated in any one of the following ways: 1) passing the General Education Development (GED) Test; 2) completion of 12 semester units of college-level work; 3) certification from the State Department of Education, a local school board, or high school authorities that the competitor is considered to have education equivalent to graduation from high school; or 4) for clerical and accounting classes, substitution of business college work in place of high school on a year-for-year basis.

Accepted applicants must provide proof of identification at each in-person test session. Acceptable identification consists of a photo identification card or two forms of signed identification.

Application Methods:
Electronic (Your CalCareer Account)