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Reposted by Matthew Pinkney

paulsinha.bsky.social @paulsinha.bsky.social · 20h

If he thinks Asians cant integrate Jenrick has clearly never been to a Maths olympiad.

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Matthew Pinkney @matthewpinkney.bsky.social · 18d

What does the buy-out data cleanse journey have in common with the trials of Hercules? www.linkedin.com/pulse/goodne...

For goodness sake, why can't you just clean the data!?

Most of my career has been spent as a Pensions Scheme Actuary – advising on strategy and funding, whilst studiously avoiding any contact with actual scheme members or the business of how they get paid...

www.linkedin.com

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Matthew Pinkney @matthewpinkney.bsky.social · 19d

Not long before actuarial work involves consulting AI models? Where a large insurance premium is the first sign you are about to get ill or crash your car?
"A new AI model can forecast a person’s risk of diseases across their life" (subscribers only)
www.economist.com/science-and-...

A new AI model can forecast a person’s risk of diseases across their life

Delphi-2M can predict which of more than 1,000 conditions a person might face next

www.economist.com

Matthew Pinkney @matthewpinkney.bsky.social · 19d

Very well put by @pjtheeconomist.bsky.social
on.ft.com/4moc6Qw

Britain must break from the grip of dysfunctional policymaking

Speculation over what might be in November’s Budget has left me depressed about our capacity for rational policies

on.ft.com

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Matthew Pinkney @matthewpinkney.bsky.social · 26d

I really hope this type of thinking starts to take hold. Is it wishful thinking to hope that @torstenbell.bsky.social will have a positive influence...?

Dan Neidle @danneidle.bsky.social · 26d

It's shocking how much consensus there is amongst tax policy wonks and economists of Left and Right on the tax reforms the UK needs to boost growth & make the tax system fairer

More shocking: they're reforms that are never mentioned by any politicians

buff.ly/rTfNmFC

Stop talking about wealth taxes — make these reforms instead

Any sane discussion of changes that both right and left could agree on is being crowded out by tax populism

buff.ly

Matthew Pinkney @matthewpinkney.bsky.social · Jun 29

More focus on regional inequalities needed please. When I read down the list of schools sending kids to Oxbridge, it is the regional bias that is striking, not the private/state split. Even within regions I imagine outcomes are heavily influenced by postcode.

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Matthew Pinkney @matthewpinkney.bsky.social · May 29

Trustee power to refund "surplus" to company + ability for a company to appoint a sole trustee = potential conflict to be managed very carefully!

Mike Harrison @higheredactuary.bsky.social · May 29

“…minded to amend the threshold at which trustees are entitled to share [pensions] surplus with the sponsoring employer from the current buyout threshold to a threshold set at full funding on the low dependency funding basis”

Pension Scheme Actuaries are now omnipotent as well as omniscient!

Government response: Options for Defined Benefit schemes

www.gov.uk

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Matthew Pinkney @matthewpinkney.bsky.social · May 9

My interest in the new Pope suddenly just increased after I read that he studied Mathematics at University. I shall listen out for "quad erat demonstrandum" in his Papal addresses

Matthew Pinkney @matthewpinkney.bsky.social · Apr 28

Under the status quo people get back-payments to 60 (according to the article). Presumably the suggestion is that there would be no back-payments but instead an uplifted annual pension, set in a way that is cost neutral. Member receives same expected benefit but spread rather than a one-off lump sum

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Matthew Pinkney @matthewpinkney.bsky.social · Apr 7

I should be pleased that Trump has crashed markets just as new ISA allowances become available, right? (Assuming he doesn't permanently bring down the global economy...)

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Matthew Pinkney @matthewpinkney.bsky.social · Mar 29

I've fixed this story: "Good news! The state pension has risen so much in recent years that, in line with everyone else earning that amount, a tiny amount of income tax is expected to apply" (the original article refers to a "stealth raid")
www.thetimes.com/article/b9d8...

The state pension tax hit coming for your retirement

A government stealth raid could see a chunk of your income going straight to HMRC, explains Lucy Andrews

www.thetimes.com

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Matthew Pinkney @matthewpinkney.bsky.social · Feb 7

Train departure info at Kings X to be removed 3 mins early to stop people rushing for trains last minute... surely the big problem here is that the trains are so unreliable that no-one knows when the 3 mins cut off is? People will miss any late running train
www.thetimes.com/article/7724...

King’s Cross trains vanish early from screens ‘to ease rush’

Network Rail has angered passengers by deleting information three minutes before services depart in an attempt to stop people rushing to trains

www.thetimes.com

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Matthew Pinkney @matthewpinkney.bsky.social · Feb 1

Suddenly faith in humanity is restored... "World Excel championships", "competitive spreadsheet events", "online battles", "three day spreadsheet conference", "finals in Las Vegas".
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Suffolk man competes at World Excel Championships in Las Vegas

www.bbc.co.uk

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Matthew Pinkney @matthewpinkney.bsky.social · Jan 24

In the BBC Show #TheTraitors it would be much better to deliberately keep a Traitor in the game than to vote them out, because if you vote them out they seem to just get replaced by someone else (unknown). Whereas if you keep them in, you can vote them out at the end when they are not replaced.

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Matthew Pinkney @matthewpinkney.bsky.social · Jan 24

Actuaries are quite clever apparently. Just don't do a test of common sense...!
www.thetimes.com/article/41c1...

A table of the top IQ professions with actuaries 7th out of 360

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Matthew Pinkney @matthewpinkney.bsky.social · Jan 20

On the day of Trump's inauguration it's hard not to wonder if democracy has a problem. Even in the UK, the much more sensible Labour Party has made tax promises (due to electoral pressures) that in my view were unwise. How well equipped are we to face challenges of climate and demographic change?

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Matthew Pinkney @matthewpinkney.bsky.social · Jan 19

That's "long running"

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Matthew Pinkney @matthewpinkney.bsky.social · Jan 16

This sounds concerning (unless it was backed with contingent assets?):

"With a small undisclosed £50mn pension scheme allocating about £1.5mn directly to bitcoin in the hope that outsize returns might help plug its funding deficit."

Pension funds dabble in crypto - on.ft.com/4hbrEFT

Pension funds dabble in crypto after massive bitcoin rally

[FREE TO READ] Interest from typically conservative schemes has grown following launch of US crypto ETFs

on.ft.com

Matthew Pinkney @matthewpinkney.bsky.social · Jan 12

Thought this was a good intro to the situation.
IMHO there's no way most DB schemes are going to pile into UK equities now, any last opportunity went when funding levels shot up with gilt yields. Time to confront reality and stop looking for a golden goose?
www.thetimes.com/article/7177...

How pension giants can rebuild the London stock market

The pension industry insists it is investing in Britain — just not through shares. That needs to change

www.thetimes.com

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Matthew Pinkney @matthewpinkney.bsky.social · Dec 31

Why doesn't whatsapp allow me to schedule messages so I can send my Happy New Year messages now and go to bed?

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Matthew Pinkney @matthewpinkney.bsky.social · Dec 30

Maybe one day I'll be able charge my EV on holiday without having to download yet another app in a location where there's no mobile reception

Matthew Pinkney @matthewpinkney.bsky.social · Dec 23

If you are looking for something to take over your life during the festive lull, I can recommend the video game 'Balatro'. Engages brain, but not excessively. Black Mirror creator Charlier Brooker described it as "possibly the most addictive thing ever created". www.playbalatro.com

Balatro

Balatro is a deck-building roguelite where you must play poker hands and earn chips to defeat enemy blinds. Enhance your deck of playing cards, buy Jokers to modify each hand you play, and discover ne...

www.playbalatro.com

Matthew Pinkney @matthewpinkney.bsky.social · Dec 20

This year a lot of apps are wanting me to relive my 2024 experience with them. Spotify have been doing it a while... fine, it's nice to be remined of music I like again. But do I really want to relive my banking transactions or the the memory of looking up James Milner's age on my sports stats app?

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Matthew Pinkney @matthewpinkney.bsky.social · Dec 17

Yes this seems valid. I am doubtful of both the PHSO decision AND the Government decision to ignore it! Not sure if two wrongs make a right...

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Matthew Pinkney @matthewpinkney.bsky.social · Dec 17

I want to say something to support my view that the WASPI argument seems wrong to me, but this particular aspect does seem troubling..!

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