Continuing education is learning that is acquired during time that was specifically allocated by the actuary and expected in advance by the actuary to be “Relevant Continuing Education” (as defined in the U.S. Qualification Standards Section 2.2.7).

Time spent reading such materials may count as continuing education if they are relevant to rendering an actuarial opinion in the areas in which the actuary will practice in the effective period (Section 2.2.7).
 
Each actuary will need to determine whether the material is relevant to his or her area of practice based upon his or her individual circumstances.

Last updated December 2014

Once an actuary becomes a member of any of the five U.S.-based actuarial organizations (not just the American Academy of Actuaries), he or she must comply with all of the requirements of the U.S. Qualification Standards before issuing any Statement of Actuarial Opinion (SAO) to be relied upon in the United States. It is wise for candidates to plan ahead when they are close to qualification if they intend to issue SAOs shortly after receiving their credential.
 

Actuaries may face situations where their CE qualifications are audited or reviewed by third parties, such as regulators, attorneys in litigation, the Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline (or other disciplinary bodies to which the actuary is subject), or other organizations of which the actuary is a member. Section 6.1 of the USQS sets forth recommended recordkeeping of CE; however, the method of recordkeeping is ultimately up to the individual actuary.

Yes. Section 2.2.9 of the U.S. Qualification Standards allows excess CE hours earned in one year to be carried forward to the immediately following year.
 
For example, if an actuary earns 31 hours of CE in 2013 for the 2014 qualification year, then the actuary may carry over 1 hour to 2014 for the 2015 qualification year.
 
However, for an actuary to carry over professionalism hours, organized hours, or specific qualification hours, the actuary must have more than 30 hours in total and more hours than needed for a specific type of hours.

Yes. The 30-hour requirement will usually be met in the calendar year before the year the Statement of Actuarial Opinion (SAO) is issued. If an actuary has fewer than 30 hours of relevant CE from the preceding year, he or she can make up the shortfall in the current year. However, no SAOs can be issued prior to those hours being earned, and those hours do not count toward the CE requirement for the current year (Section 2.2.2).

Last updated December 2014

30 relevant CE hours usually earned in the previous calendar year are required (Section 2.2.2).

The U.S. Qualification Standards include a description of what is considered “relevant continuing education.”  Ultimately it is an actuary’s responsibility to make a reasonable, good-faith determination of what CE opportunities will enhance his or her ability to practice in a desired field (Section 2.2.7).

Last updated December 2014

Each year, an actuary must earn CE that includes at least 3 CE hours on professionalism topics, 6 CE hours on organized activities, and no more than 3 CE hours on general business topics (note that the USQS do not require any general business hours). If the actuary needs to comply with the Specific Qualification Standards in Section 3, then the actuary must have at least 15 CE hours that are directly relevant to the topics covered in Section 3.1.1 (Sections 2.2.2, 2.2.9, and 3.3).

Last updated December 2014

Section 3.1.1 of the USQS lists the topics that must be considered for the Specific Qualification basic and continuing education requirements. Although professionalism is not one of the topics listed, a course may include material that covers both professionalism and at least one of the topics in Section 3.1.1 (Section 3.3 and Section 3.1.1).