As used in this part, the term:
(a) Actuarial experience means the performance of, or the direct supervision of, services involving the application of principles of probability and compound interest to determine the present value of payments to be made upon the fulfillment of certain specified conditions or the occurrence of certain specified events.
(b) Responsible actuarial experience means actuarial experience:
(1) Involving participation in making determinations that the methods and assumptions adopted in the procedures followed in actuarial services are appropriate in the light of all pertinent circumstances, and
(2) Demonstrating a thorough understanding of the principles and alternatives involved in such actuarial services.
(c) Month of responsible actuarial experience means a month during which the actuary spent a substantial amount of time in responsible actuarial experience.
(d) Responsible pension actuarial experience means responsible actuarial experience involving valuations of the liabilities of pension plans, wherein the performance of such valuations requires the application of principles of life contingencies and compound interest in the determination, under one or more standard actuarial cost methods, of such of the following as may be appropriate in the particular case:
(3) Payment required to amortize a liability or other amount over a period of time.
(4) Actuarial gain or loss.
(e) Month of responsible pension actuarial experience means a month during which the actuary spent a substantial amount of time in responsible pension actuarial experience.
(f) Applicant means an individual who has filed an application to become an enrolled actuary.
(g) Enrolled actuary means an individual who has satisfied the standards and qualifications as set forth in this part and who has been approved by the Joint Board (or its designee) to perform actuarial services required under ERISA or regulations thereunder.
(h) Actuarial services means performance of actuarial valuations and preparation of any actuarial reports.
Effective Date Note:
At 76 FR 17769, Mar. 31, 2011, § 901.1 was amended in paragraph (g) by removing the phrase “approved by the Joint Board (or its designee) to perform” and adding in its place the phrase “approved by the Joint Board for the Enrollment of Actuaries (the Joint Board), or its designee, to perform”, and by adding new paragraphs (i), (j) and (k), effective May 2, 2011. For the convenience of the user, the added text is set forth as follows:
§ 901.1
Definitions.
(i) Certified responsible actuarial experience means responsible actuarial experience of an individual that has been certified in writing by the individual's supervisor.
(j) Certified responsible pension actuarial experience means responsible pension actuarial experience of an individual that has been certified in writing by the individual's supervisor if the supervisor is an enrolled actuary. If the individual's supervisor is not an enrolled actuary, the pension actuarial experience must be certified in writing by both the supervisor and an enrolled actuary with knowledge of the individual's pension actuarial experience.
(k) Enrollment cycle means the three-year period from January 1, 2011, to December 31, 2013, and every three-year period thereafter.
20 C.F.R. § 901.1 — Definitions. · CFR 2011 annual edition (revised as of 2011-04-01) · https://pensionresource.website/EAMain?content=EAMain.Law&id=cfr20-901.1&asof=2011-04-01 · printed Oct 16, 2026