Alfred Watson (actuary)

Sir Alfred William Watson KCB FIA (11 March 1870 – 7 May 1936) was a British actuary and civil servant. In 1917 he became Britain's first government actuary and was very influential in setting up the funding by National Insurance for the newly introduced state pension.

Sir

Alfred Watson

KCB FIA
Government Actuary
In office
14 May 1917 – 7 May 1936
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byGeorge Epps
Personal details
Born(1870-03-11)11 March 1870
Bristol, England
Died7 May 1936(1936-05-07) (aged 66)
London, England
NationalityBritish

Early life

Watson was born in Bristol on 11 March 1870 to parents Alfred Reuban Watson, a violinist and composer, and Emily Morris Hobro.[1] He studied at Nottingham High School, before joining his grandfather Reuban Watson's actuarial practice, R. Watson and Sons.[2] He became a fellow of the Institute of Actuaries in 1893, passing his final examination with the highest mark in his year.[3][4]

Career

In 1896, Watson was appointed to the 1896 Rothschild Committee on Old Age Pensions, which had been set up to investigate establishing a state pension in the United Kingdom, following the introduction of a state pension in Germany.[3][5] The committee concluded in 1898 that none of the systems presented to them were viable.[6] Watson questioned witnesses with an "aggressive and combative style".[3]

After continuing his career as an actuary, consulting for friendly societies including the Manchester Unity of Oddfellows.[3] In 1903, he published an article titled Sickness and Mortality Experience (1893–97) of the Manchester Unity of Oddfellows in the Journal of the Institute of Actuaries.[3][7] In the article, he demonstrated an increase in sickness and a reduction in mortality, with links between occupation and sickness and between region and mortality, and that sickness benefit claims had risen for all groups of members, but most significantly for members older than 65.[5][8][9] He began consulting in London from 1910.[5] He gave a series of lectures on the subject of Friendly society finance to the Institute of Actuaries in 1911 and 1912.[10]

Watson gave advice about the writing of the National Insurance Act 1911, before being appointed chief actuary to the National Health Insurance Joint Committee after the National Insurance bill had become law in 1912.[3][5] In this role, which he held until 1919, he advised various government departments during World War I.[1][11] During this time, he worked on plans with the Ministry of Shipping to optimise the use of shipping.[4]

Government actuary

Watson became the first government actuary on 14 May 1917, gaining influence with the expansion of National Insurance, particularly with regard to pensions.[3][12][13] He worked inside HM Treasury, and was seen to be aligned with the department's desire for more control over social policy.[1] The Government Actuary's Department was created in July 1919.[2][14] During the time he held the role, no social policy could become law without his approval.[1][15][16] He was often consulted by all government departments on subjects, including subjects outside his specialism.[4]

Watson served on royal commissions on decimalisation in 1918 and national health insurance in 1926.[5] He served as president of the Institute of Actuaries from 1920 to 1922 and served on the council of the Royal Statistical Society and the committee of the Reform Club.[1][5]

Watson has been credited as the "driving force" behind the introduction of contributory pensions in the United Kingdom, believing that means-tested pensions or universal pensions paid for by general taxation would be unsustainable.[3][15][17]

Personal life

Watson married Elizabeth Moffrey, daughter of a grand master of the Manchester Unity of Oddfellows, in June 1895.[1] They had two daughters and a son, who died in childhood.[5] Watson died on 7 May 1936 in London, while still in his role as the government actuary.[1][4]

Honours

Watson was knighted in 1915 and made a knight commander of the order of the Bath (KCB) in 1920.[4][9]

References
  1. "Watson, Sir Alfred William". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. Laurie Dennett (1 May 2004). Mind over data: an actuarial history. Granta Editions in association with the Institute of Actuaries. ISBN 978-1-85757-082-3.
  3. John Macnicol (18 April 2002). The Politics of Retirement in Britain, 1878-1948. Cambridge University Press. pp. 170–. ISBN 978-0-521-89260-5.
  4. C, C. R. V. (November 1936). "Memoir of Sir Alfred W. Watson, K.C.B." Journal of the Institute of Actuaries. 68 (1): 1–7. doi:10.1017/S0020268100010362. ISSN 2058-1009.
  5. "Obituary: Sir Alfred Watson, Government Actuary". The Times. 9 May 1936. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  6. B., E. (1907). "Review of Old Age Pensions. Tables which have Been Prepared in Connection with the Question of Old Age Pensions, with a Preliminary Memorandum". Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. 70 (3): 483–485. doi:10.2307/2339623. ISSN 0952-8385. JSTOR 2339623.
  7. "Sickness and Mortality Experience (1893–97) of the Manchester Unity of Oddfellows. An account of an Investigation of the Sickness and Mortality Experience of the I.O.O.F., Manchester Unity, during the five years 1893–1897, by Alfred W. Watson, F.I.A., F.S.S., with tables. Published by the Grand Master and Board of Directors, 97, Grosvenor Road, Chorlton-upon-Medlock, Manchester, and by C. & E. Layton, 56, Farringdon Street, London, E.C.". Journal of the Institute of Actuaries. 38 (4): 369–372. April 1904. doi:10.1017/S0020268100008131. ISSN 2058-1009.
  8. John Macnicol (12 January 2006). Age Discrimination: An Historical and Contemporary Analysis. Cambridge University Press. pp. 145–. ISBN 978-1-107-32076-5.
  9. Martin Campbell-Kelly; Mary Croarken; Raymond Flood; Eleanor Robson (2003). The History of Mathematical Tables: From Sumer to Spreadsheets. OUP Oxford. pp. 95ff. ISBN 978-0-19-850841-0.
  10. M, V. (April 1913). "Friendly Society Finance considered in its actuarial aspect. A Course of Lectures delivered at the Institute of Actuaries. By Alfred William Watson, F.I.A. (C. & E. Layton, London.)". Journal of the Institute of Actuaries. 47 (2): 309–312. doi:10.1017/S0020268100026342. ISSN 2058-1009.
  11. WATSON, Sir Alfred William', Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007 accessed 11 March 2014
  12. Daykin, CD. "The role of the government actuary in social security in the UK" (PDF).
  13. Great Britain. National Health Insurance Joint Committee (1917). Report on the Administration of National Health Insurance. H.M. Stationery Office. p. 3.
  14. Martin Sullivan (28 August 2004). Understanding Pensions. Routledge. pp. 130–. ISBN 978-1-134-48024-1.
  15. Pedersen, Susan (8 February 2018). "One-Man Ministry". London Review of Books: 3–6. ISSN 0260-9592.
  16. Records of the Government Actuary's Department. Government Actuary's Department, National Health Insurance Joint Committee, Actuarial Branch. 1870–2004.CS1 maint: others (link)
  17. Robin Blackburn (2002). Banking on Death: Or, Investing in Life : the History and Future of Pensions. Verso. pp. 50–. ISBN 978-1-85984-409-0.
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