Actuarial services

Schedule SB is prepared and signed by the plan's enrolled actuary, and the engagement letter confirms who signs it for your plan. Finbryn prepares the calculations and workpapers, and Finbryn's signing actuary reviews and signs accounting and reserve reports such as ASC 715, GASB 75 and IBNR reports. A statement of actuarial opinion is signed by the actuary the engagement letter names, who must meet the applicable qualification standard. Under 20 CFR 901.2 (eCFR, checked 2026-10-02), an entity engaged for ERISA actuarial services may provide them only through an enrolled actuary.

The fee depends on the plan or program, not on a list price. The main drivers are plan size and participant count, how clean the census or claims data is, whether this year is a full valuation or a roll-forward, how many plans or lines of coverage are involved, and how tight the filing deadline is. Finbryn quotes in writing after seeing a data sample, and the quote names who signs; no list price is published for this line.

Check four things whoever you pick. Who is the named signing actuary and what credential do they hold, such as enrolled actuary status listed with the IRS Joint Board. What exactly is delivered, a signed report or only calculations. How the provider handles your census and claims data. And whether the provider's deadlines match your filing calendar, for example Form 5500 on July 31 for calendar-year plans (IRS, reviewed 2026-07-20).

Schedule SB or MB to Form 5500, the adjusted funding target attainment percentage certification, the PBGC variable-rate premium certification and the Schedule EA-S for a standard plan termination all call for an enrolled actuary, per the 2025 Form 5500 instructions, 26 CFR 1.436-1, PBGC's 2026 premium instructions and PBGC Schedule EA-S, which lets the plan administrator sign for section 412(e)(3) plans (checked 2026-10-02). Accounting reports such as ASC 715 and GASB 75 have no credential rule in the standard itself, but auditors expect a credentialed actuary.

For a retirement plan, participant census (birth dates, hire dates, pay, hours), plan documents and asset statements. For self-funded health, de-identified paid-claims data with incurred and paid dates. For liability programs, loss runs by accident year. Finbryn does not need protected health information, and a data request sheet lists the exact fields before anything is sent.

Yes. Work is built to your templates and assumption set. Finbryn's signing actuary reviews and signs accounting and reserve reports, and an enrolled actuary signs Schedule SB and other ERISA funding work. If your firm has its own actuary who should sign instead, the engagement letter says so. Your firm keeps the client relationship. See white-label actuarial support for what you send and what comes back, by engagement type.

Census and claims files carry personal data, so the transfer method, who may open the files and when they are returned or deleted are agreed in writing before data moves. For health plans the work uses de-identified claims lag data. The security page lists the controls Finbryn describes publicly today.

IFRS 17, which applies to annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2023, defers unearned profit in a contractual service margin. LDTI (ASC 944) has no margin and applies to fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022 for SEC filers that aren't smaller reporting companies and after December 15, 2024 for all other entities (sources checked 2026-10-16). See IFRS 17 vs LDTI.

The insurer's own actuary, or another credentialed actuary the insurer engages, signs. Where the work is an opinion, that person meets the American Academy of Actuaries' US Qualification Standards (in effect as of January 1, 2022), and the engagement letter names them. Finbryn prepares data checks, calculations and exhibits for IFRS 17 reporting and rate filings, and is never an insurer's Appointed Actuary. A statement of actuarial opinion on reserves follows ASOP No. 36, effective October 1, 2024, and is signed by the actuary who gives it.

Yes, as review support prepared for the engagement team under AU-C 620: data tie-outs, reasonableness tests and a recomputation, for the actuary who signs the review note, either your firm's own actuary or one your firm engages. The SAS No. 146 amendments to AU-C 620 apply to audits of periods beginning on or after December 15, 2025 (AICPA, checked 2026-10-16). The reviewer never reviews an estimate Finbryn prepared. See actuarial review support for audit teams.

A section 204(h) notice, at least 45 days before the effective date, or at least 15 days for a plan expected to have fewer than 100 participants with an accrued benefit (26 CFR 54.4980F-1, checked 2026-10-16). For a freeze effective January 1, 2027 the 45-day date is November 17, 2026. See freeze and DB-to-DC costing.

No for a standard 401(k). Yes for a defined benefit or cash balance plan, where the plan's enrolled actuary signs Schedule SB each year, and for a cash balance plan paired with a 401(k). Form 5500 for a calendar-year plan is due July 31 (DOL, checked 2026-10-08).

Actuarial support is the data checks, models and workpapers. A signing actuary reviews them, takes professional responsibility and signs the report, certification or opinion. For ERISA filings the plan's enrolled actuary signs; for ASC 715, GASB 75 and reserve reports the engagement letter names the signer.

There is no standard price, and none is published here. Cost follows participant count, data quality, whether the year is a full valuation or a roll-forward, the number of plans, and the deadline. The engagement letter fixes the scope, who signs, the data due date and the fee basis. Ask for expected annual actuarial, investment and administration fees as one total.