Actuarial Services

SHDR provides annual valuation services for sponsors of defined benefit, executive retirement, and retiree medical plans. Our actuarial consultants use advanced valuation techniques to measure obligations and annual costs for these plans and then relay this information in a meaningful way to plan sponsors.

We work with organizations including publicly traded and privately held corporations, not-for-profit organizations, governmental entities and municipalities. SHDR valuation services include preparation of the following:

• Annual cash funding requirements in accordance with ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code
• Annual expense obligations for government entities pursuant to the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB)
• Annual expense obligations for private sector organizations pursuant to the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)
• Annual participant and governmental reporting requirements to ensure compliance with government regulations
• Information for retirement plan and organization audits, ensuring compliance with audit guidelines
• Experience studies to evaluate the validity of actuarial assumptions when compared to recent plan experience
• Cost projections to provide insight into possible future costs, obligations, plan assets and the funded status of a plan
• Cost impact analysis of legislated changes in benefits, funding or accounting regulations

Controlling costs for employee benefits is a tremendous concern for employers. The ability to forecast risk, identify trends and establish long-term expectations is critical for organizations to prepare for what the future brings. SHDR works with plan sponsors to establish and manage appropriate investment and funding policies for their defined benefit plans.

An asset liability modeling study from SHDR can project existing funding and investment policies for a defined benefit plan into the future. Simulating thousands of trials involving alternate economic and market scenarios, we can determine the effects of investment policies on a plan’s contributions, expenses and funded ratios. These studies can also identify risks to a plan and present potential solutions.

Asset liability modeling from SHDR is designed to do the following:

• Recognize the growth of plan liabilities
• Present a range of likely outcomes and corresponding risk parameters
• Develop a quantifiable understanding of a plan’s inherent funding risks
• Forecast future effects of optimal asset allocation strategies and funding methodologies
• Select an asset allocation strategy based on a plan’s financial goals
• Establish plan expectations for the future