PD Requirements

[tchiew]

Hi

Just completed me exam syllabus and working on my PD now. Can anyone advise how long does it take to clear 45 PD credits? I was hoping to catch May's FAC. Thanks.

[VP]

Well, I need 30 and I'm planning for November, hoping for August.

[Just Answer My Questions]

In order to go in May, are there any SOA approved credits possible between now and beginning of March? What do most people use for non-SOA approved?

Thanks!

[twoleft]

Everybody's timeline varies, depending on the number of credits needed, the opportunities available for obtaining credits, and the motivation for getting it done quickly.

I needed 35 credits. I submitted my initial PD filing in late September and my executed plan in late December. I used all SOA approved programs. It took about two weeks to get approval. I took full advantage of the allowed distance learning and past seminar credit limits. I could have shortened my timeline somewhat by going to some earlier seminars.

The deadline for attending the March FAC is Jan 26. If May follows the same timeline, the deadline will be March 26 and you will need approval by then. The SOA asks for at least 4 weeks to approve a plan, although many people have had a quicker turnaround time. That means, to play it safe, you will need to submit an executed plan no later than the first of March to give yourself a pretty good chance to make May. That is also assuming that they find nothing wrong with your plan.

[mayreeh]

I got 8I results last year in January. Needed 50 credits to get PD. Took 5 weeks or so to get it all done and a month to get it approved. I made May FAC.

Bottom line is that if you want to go ballistic, you can. (I really really wanted it.) However, in my case, I had it all planned before exam results got to me. Not sure how much it would have cost me if I hadn't had it all planned out ahead of time.

Product Development CD ROM is up to 12 credits of SOA approved. I delivered 5 one hour seminars at work for 15 non-SOA approved credits. I already had my project done and just needed to do the write up. Plus I had attended 15 credits of SOA approved meetings the prior fall.

Good luck..... It is possible, but if you haven't done your planning yet or scoped it out with your advisor, May might be a push.....

[Just Answer My Questions]

I got 8I results last year in January. Needed 50 credits to get PD. Took 5 weeks or so to get it all done and a month to get it approved. I made May FAC.

Bottom line is that if you want to go ballistic, you can. (I really really wanted it.) However, in my case, I had it all planned before exam results got to me. Not sure how much it would have cost me if I hadn't had it all planned out ahead of time.

Product Development CD ROM is up to 12 credits of SOA approved. I delivered 5 one hour seminars at work for 15 non-SOA approved credits. I already had my project done and just needed to do the write up. Plus I had attended 15 credits of SOA approved meetings the prior fall.

Good luck..... It is possible, but if you haven't done your planning yet or scoped it out with your advisor, May might be a push.....

I have my topic and non-approved credits all lined up. It's just that I have 12 SOA-approved credits so far and need to figure out the other 8 which basically have
to be earned in the next month... but if there aren't any seminars on my topic that I can do through audio that take place over the next month - isn't it impossible? What else is available in the retirement track except for seminars to earn SOA approved credits? Also, how many credits do graduate courses earn (I can't find it on the website)?
Thank you for any help...

[mayreeh]

Hmmmm I know you can use tapes of seminars, but I think that the date of the seminar is the date that determines whether it is before or after your course 8. Not sure though. Might be worth checking out.

What about the online courses offered through the SOA website? Is there anything there on Pension stuff? I think some of those are allowable for PD credit.

There are some non-SOA sponsored meetings that get SOA credit. http://www.soa.org/eande/approve.html has a list of seminars in the next few months that get credit. Perhaps one of the ones listed there would work?

Good luck

[mayreeh]

Suggestion - email the SOA. They are pretty good about answering questions. Then post the question and answer here.

[Just Answer My Questions]

Anyone know which SOA online courses are SOA approved? Also, do they take a long time to complete?

[Just Answer My Questions]

C'mon.... somebody must know the answer to this....

[McBain]

The SOA's Virtual Campus has 12 programs available (some have a fee), several of which can be used for SOA-approved PD credit. Upon starting your PD journey, you can sign up for the Distance Learning Program (for a fee), which gives you access to the Virtual Campus. The DLP also lets you order up to 10 tapes from past SOA meeting sessions.

I was only able to find one Virtual Campus course that I could use in my PD plan, but I did use 7 tapes.

When laying out how you're actually going to execute your PD plan, you just need to make sure you follow all the little rules (ie, 15 credits allowed before initial plan filing, 15 credit max for programs from DLP, 15 credit max for non-approved programs, etc). It can actually be a little confusing, but hey, you're an actuary...you can figure it out.

[Just Answer My Questions]

okay... but how do we know which ones are approved and the number of credits they give?

[McBain]

Go to the SOA website...in the "Areas of Interest" section, click on "Member Services". Go to the bottom of the page and click on the "Virtual Campus" link. Click on "New Student Orientation". Select "Course Catalog". Read the course descriptions. Rinse well and repeat.