According to our 2026 Actuarial Salary and Industry Insights Survey, median salaries for actuaries in Ireland with one to five years of post-qualification experience are between 1% and 5% higher than a year ago. Pay for newly qualified actuaries remains unchanged at €80,000 for the second consecutive year, while the proportion using AI at work has risen sharply, from 47% to 83%.

The figures cover actuarial salaries in Ireland from graduate trainee level to actuaries with more than 20 years of post-qualification experience, including those with CF and PCF responsibilities. One in five qualified actuaries earn between €150,000 and €240,000, most of them in management roles and over a third in PCF positions. As most actuarial roles in Ireland are based in Dublin, the figures largely reflect actuary salaries in Dublin. We have also produced employer-sourced salary surveys annually for more than twenty years, but this guide is based on our market-sourced survey, to which actuaries contribute their own data.

This year 851 actuaries responded, 805 of them working in Ireland, against 504 responses in 2025 and 599 in 2024, which makes this the largest edition so far. For a profession of its size, Ireland’s actuarial community produced a strong response rate. Responses span every practice area, qualification level, employer type and career stage. However, findings for smaller subgroups should be interpreted with caution, and we flag these where relevant.

One of the biggest strengths is that we’re now building a time series. With three consecutive years of data and a growing respondent base, we’re starting to move beyond individual salary benchmarks and into identifying genuine market trends around pay, AI adoption, hybrid working and career satisfaction.

Jenny Johnston BAFS, FIA, FSAI, Director, Acumen Resources

What Part Qualified Actuaries Earn

This year 242 part qualified actuaries took part. Graduates starting out with no experience earn a median of €39,830, rising to €43,450 after a year, €50,000 after two and €53,550 after three. At the other end, part qualified actuaries with 13 or more years of experience who are still working through the exams earn €92,386.

Students with the six Core Principles exams CM1, CM2, CS1, CS2, CB1 and CB2 earn a median of €41,500, rising to €58,500 for those who have completed the Associate exams and €68,000 for those who have also passed two Specialist Principles exams. Typically, graduates who have already passed the IFoA Core Principles exams and CP1 start towards the top of the graduate salary range.

“Exam progress matters, but it is the combination of exams and practical experience that shapes how an actuary’s career and salary develop.”

Jenny Johnston BAFS, FIA, FSAI, Director, Acumen Resources

Twenty-nine actuaries qualified through other bodies, such as the US Society of Actuaries, the Actuarial Society of South Africa or a European association. On average they had twelve years of experience and an average salary of €104,128. Another 23 respondents were no longer sitting exams, after passing seven on average.

What a Newly Qualified Actuary Earns

Actuaries who have passed every exam but are still completing the IFoA’s personal and professional development (PPD) requirement earn a median salary of €75,000, based on 42 responses, slightly lower than last year’s €75,500.

“When a student passes all their actuarial exams, they may not get a qualification uplift straight away. There is often a differential for actuaries still waiting on PPD, and those individuals will often have a salary below €80,000.”

Jenny Johnston BAFS, FIA, FSAI, Director, Acumen Resources

In our experience, actuaries may reach this salary level sooner when they move into a new role shortly after qualifying, whether internally or with another employer.

Actuarial Salary by Years of Experience (PQE)

Median salaries have increased across every band from one to five years PQE since 2025. The median now reaches €100,000 at four years PQE, a year earlier than in last year’s survey. The chart and table below show the median salary, reported range and response count for each band.

Source: Acumen Resources 2026 Actuarial Salary and Industry Insights Survey, qualified actuary responses, all practice areas.

We still see a meaningful difference between the package an actuary receives immediately upon qualifying and what the market is often willing to pay for that same person six to twelve months later.

Once someone has one, two or three years of post-qualification experience, they’re no longer being valued solely for passing exams. They’ve started leading workstreams, managing stakeholder relationships and applying actuarial judgement in real business situations.

Jenny Johnston BAFS, FIA, FSAI, Director, Acumen Resources

The largest increases in the median occur between five and six years PQE, from €105,500 to €113,000, and between eight and nine years, from €117,500 to €130,000. These are often the stages at which actuaries take on management or Controlled Function responsibilities. The title ranges we see in the market broadly reflect this progression: managers typically earn from the high €80,000s to around €100,000, senior managers up to roughly €120,000, and heads of department from €120,000 to €140,000. Above that level, packages depend heavily on the role, the company and its regulatory risk rating, historically known as its PRISM rating, with the most senior salaries ranging from €150,000 to well above €200,000.

Salary ranges are relatively narrow at earlier career stages but widen considerably at senior levels, where reporting lines, product complexity, team size, management responsibility and CF or PCF status can all influence pay. The median for actuaries with more than 20 years of PQE is €167,500, compared with €193,000 last year. However, this year’s figure is based on 20 responses, compared with 11 in 2025, so the change is more likely to reflect the composition of the sample than a fall in senior salaries. The highest salaries reported among actuaries with 16 or more years of PQE were above €300,000.

The Controlled Function Salary Premium

At 11 to 15 years PQE, actuaries with Controlled Function responsibility (CF or PCF) earn a median salary of €160,000, compared with €130,000 for those without these responsibilities, a premium of €30,000. With 28 and 50 respondents respectively, these figures provide a reasonably reliable comparison. Although the sample sizes are smaller at earlier career stages, the same pattern is evident at seven years PQE, where the corresponding medians are €132,500 and €101,000.

In lower-rated firms, Controlled Function responsibilities may be assigned at an earlier career stage, meaning the associated salary premium can emerge sooner than in higher-rated firms. Our guide to the actuarial career path in Ireland explains how these roles fit into the progression from graduate to Chief Actuary.

CF and PCF holders carry regulatory responsibilities that extend beyond technical actuarial work. They are often responsible for signing off key decisions, engaging with regulators, influencing strategy and managing significant business risk. That level of responsibility naturally attracts a higher reward.

The actuaries who reach these roles typically combine strong technical credibility with leadership capability, stakeholder management skills and the ability to communicate complex issues to boards and senior executives.

Jenny Johnston BAFS, FIA, FSAI, Director, Acumen Resources

Where Actuarial Salaries Differ

Employer type

Reinsurance records the highest median salaries in this year’s survey. At newly qualified level, the median is €90,000 in reinsurance, compared with €80,500 in insurance and €78,000 in consultancy. However, the reinsurance figure is based on only seven responses, so it is best treated as indicative. At 11 to 15 years PQE, the corresponding medians are €157,500 in reinsurance, €142,500 in consultancy and €137,000 in insurance.

Reinsurance roles often involve highly specialised technical work, exposure to international markets and business decisions with very large financial consequences. As a result, employers compete for a relatively small pool of experienced talent and compensation tends to reflect that.

That said, I wouldn’t advise anyone to move into reinsurance purely for the salary. A role that pays 10% more may not feel like a step forward if it doesn’t align with the kind of work you enjoy or the career you ultimately want to build.

Jenny Johnston BAFS, FIA, FSAI, Director, Acumen Resources

Management responsibility

For the first time, this year’s survey compares salaries by management responsibility. At five years PQE, managers earn a median of €113,000, compared with €98,553 for actuaries without people management responsibility. At 11 to 15 years PQE, the corresponding figures are €150,000 and €126,250.

Practice area

Before qualification, salaries are broadly similar across practice areas, with entry level students earning €39,800 in life and €40,500 in non-life. The difference becomes more pronounced after qualification: at five years PQE, the median is €113,000 in non-life compared with €105,000 in life, rising to €155,000 and €138,500 respectively at 11 to 15 years PQE. However, the non-life figure at this level is based on only 13 responses, so the true gap may be smaller or larger than it appears. In our experience, the premium reflects demand for specialist P&C expertise, particularly in technical, commercial and internationally benchmarked roles, with London Market or Lloyd’s exposure often commanding a further premium.

Gender

The survey found no consistent pay gap between men and women with the same level of experience. The group with the higher median varies by PQE band: men are ahead at 11 to 15 years PQE, while women are ahead at 16 to 20 years. However, many of these comparisons rely on small samples, which limits how much can be read into any single band. Women accounted for 31% of respondents who disclosed their gender.

Bonuses, Pensions and Other Benefits

Nine in ten actuaries (89.5%) receive a bonus. We asked about its size for the first time this year, and the most common answer was 6% to 10% of salary (29% of those with a bonus), while one in five receive 20% or more. Bonuses vary most in consultancy, where 27% receive 20% or more but 23% receive 5% or less.

Almost everyone has a pension, mostly defined contribution (86%), with just 5% in defined benefit schemes. The most common employer contribution is 9% to 12% of salary, and 61% receive 10% or more. Among qualified actuaries, 30% get a car allowance, typically €10,000.

When people talk to us about benefits, work-abroad policies generate particular enthusiasm, especially among those at an early career stage. These policies typically allow employees to work abroad for two to four weeks each year. Wellness initiatives and additional wellbeing days also come up often. When an actuary is choosing between two offers, flexibility and the employer’s commitment to wellbeing can be the deciding factors.

How Actuaries Feel About Their Pay

This year we also asked actuaries how satisfied they are with their pay. Just over half (53%) are satisfied, 29% are neutral and 18% are not. Those paid below the market are much less happy. Of those more than 10% below the median for their level, 38% are satisfied, compared with 51% of those within 10% of it and 70% of those more than 10% above.

Satisfaction is also highest in someone’s first year with an employer (66%), falls to 46% at three to five years, then picks up slightly for those who remain longer with an employer. Almost a quarter (24%) of people in their first year with an employer would not change anything about their job, against 6% to 9% of those who have been there longer. Wanting a higher salary peaks at 57% among those three to five years in, which is also when satisfaction with pay is at its lowest.

Asked for the one thing they would change about their job, 52% said a higher salary. The share falls with seniority, from 62% of part qualified actuaries to 38% of those 11 or more years after qualifying, who were more likely to pick career progression, flexibility or better management. One in ten would not change anything.

The first thing I’d suggest is to establish whether they’re genuinely underpaid relative to the market or simply feeling undervalued.

Money isn’t always the whole story. Career development, flexibility, interesting work and progression opportunities can all affect long-term satisfaction. Sometimes the solution is a salary increase. Other times it’s finding a role where future growth is better aligned with personal ambitions.

Jenny Johnston BAFS, FIA, FSAI, Director, Acumen Resources

The “Where do you stand?” tool in the salary survey dashboard is a quick way to check how your pay compares with actuaries at the same stage. For a more detailed discussion about your specific circumstances, get in touch. We explain how a specialist recruiter can help in Actuarial Jobs Are Easy to Browse. Choosing the Right One Isn’t.

AI Use and Actuarial Pay

AI use has risen fast, from 23% of respondents in 2024 to 47% in 2025 and 83% this year. It is spread across every career stage, at 85% of those in their first five years after qualifying and 80% of those with 11 or more years.

We asked people to describe how they use it, and 522 did. The most common uses were writing emails, reports and presentations (37%), coding and debugging in Python, SQL, VBA or R (33%), and summarising, reviewing and research (32%), followed by data analysis and modelling (17%) and automation and AI agents (13%). Microsoft Copilot was the tool mentioned most.

AI has moved beyond experimentation and into day-to-day actuarial work. We’re now seeing some organisations move from individual use cases to enterprise-wide adoption, rolling out tools such as Microsoft Copilot more broadly after initial pilot programmes have proven successful. We’re also starting to see teams build their own agentic AI solutions to automate recurring processes and workflows.

Jenny Johnston BAFS, FIA, FSAI, Director, Acumen Resources

Actuaries who use AI are paid broadly in line with the market median for their level, while the 73 non-users included in the comparison sit 4.5% below it. This does not show that AI use leads to higher pay, as the two groups may differ by role, employer or other factors. However, it does add context to a growing discussion about whether the workforce could become divided between actuaries who actively embrace AI and those who do not.

From a hiring perspective, I don’t think employers are looking for actuaries to be AI experts, but expectations are definitely evolving. As AI becomes more capable, the skills that become more valuable are judgement, communication, critical thinking, commercial awareness and the ability to challenge and interpret results.

Jenny Johnston BAFS, FIA, FSAI, Director, Acumen Resources

Hybrid Working and Work-Life Balance

Two thirds of respondents (67%) spend two days or fewer a week in the office, slightly down from 69% in 2025, and two days is the most common pattern (43%). The share in three days a week rose from 22% to 25%.

On average, actuaries rate their work-life balance 3.6 out of 5, and 58% give it a 4 or 5. The more days people spend in the office, the lower they rate it, from 4.0 for those fully remote to 3.1 for those in five days a week. Managers rate theirs lower than non-managers, at 3.4 against 3.8.

Actuarial Contracting

Most actuaries in Ireland are permanent employees (93%), with 4% on fixed-term contracts and 2% on a day rate. The median day rate this year is €900, among contractors with a median of eleven years PQE. That is down on last year’s €1,000, but only 18 people reported a day rate, so treat it as a rough guide.

The contracting market grew sharply over the past fifteen years. Solvency II and then IFRS 17 drove strong demand for flexible resources at short notice. With IFRS 17 now business as usual, the day rate market has cooled, and the next lift is likely to come with new regulations or accounting standards.

What Has Changed Since 2025

Compared with 2025, the survey grew from 504 responses to 851, and the biggest change was in AI use. Newly qualified pay held steady and early career pay rose a little, while some parts of the wider package, such as longer annual leave and share schemes, were reported less often.

The cost of living in Dublin, where most actuarial roles are based, continues to push pay expectations up. At the same time, fewer international actuaries are moving to Ireland while the domestic pipeline is the strongest it has been in two decades, which keeps entry level pay in check without easing the shortage of experienced specialists. The two problems employers raise with us most are salary and availability, and availability is hardest to solve in general insurance.

Reading the 2026 Survey Data

If you are using the survey to benchmark a role, an offer or a move, three things are worth keeping in mind.

1. Treat €80,000 as a market benchmark for a newly qualified actuary, which includes people who have already moved employer, rather than what every newly qualified actuary is paid.
2. A Controlled Function role adds €30,000 to the median at 11 to 15 years PQE, so it is worth factoring in when you compare offers, along with the extra responsibility that comes with it.
3. Where the samples are small, particularly at 20+ years PQE and for contractors, treat year-on-year changes with caution and look at the range as well as the median.

The salary survey dashboard has the full results, including every PQE band split by practice area, employer type, gender and management responsibility, plus the 2024 and 2025 data. The survey only works if people take part, so please consider completing the next one, and get in touch if you would like to be included.

If you are preparing for interviews, see Actuarial Interviews in Ireland: What to Expect and How to Prepare.