Many TPA firms outsource actuarial work to third parties, creating a gap between the people administering your plan and the people certifying its funding. At Nydia, our Enrolled Actuaries work alongside the administration team under one roof. That integration means faster turnaround, tighter coordination, and a single point of accountability for every aspect of your plan.
Russ Snow | Enrolled Actuary, Partner| As the sole remaining founding partner Russ Snow has been shaping the retirement planning industry since 1989. He continues to set the firm’s actuarial standards, guiding clients through complex plan design and regulatory challenges.
ACTUARIAL SERVICES
Every service Nydia provides for our defined benefit and cash balance plans is performed by or under the supervision of an Enrolled Actuary, credentialed by the Joint Board for the Enrollment of Actuaries.
Annual IRC 430 and 404 calculations coordinated with your CPA and advisor to optimize your funding and tax position.
Every defined benefit and cash balance plan requires an annual actuarial determination of the minimum required contribution under IRC Section 430 and the maximum deductible contribution under IRC Section 404. These calculations directly affect your annual tax strategy and funding obligations. Nydia’s actuaries perform both calculations and work with your CPA and financial advisor to ensure your funding decisions are coordinated with your broader tax plan.
Annual IRC 430 and 404 calculations coordinated with your CPA and advisor to optimize your funding and tax position.
Every defined benefit and cash balance plan requires an annual actuarial determination of the minimum required contribution under IRC Section 430 and the maximum deductible contribution under IRC Section 404. These calculations directly affect your annual tax strategy and funding obligations. Nydia’s actuaries perform both calculations and work with your CPA and financial advisor to ensure your funding decisions are coordinated with your broader tax plan.
Accurate benefit calculations using IRS-prescribed interest rates and mortality tables, ensuring participant distributions are defensible and correct.
When a participant leaves a defined benefit or cash balance plan, the value of their accrued benefit must be calculated accurately using actuarial methods. Nydia calculates present values and lump-sum equivalents in accordance with IRS prescribed interest rates and mortality tables, ensuring distributions are accurate and defensible.
Every defined benefit and cash balance plan requires an annual actuarial determination of the minimum required contribution under IRC Section 430 and the maximum deductible contribution under IRC Section 404. These calculations directly affect your annual tax strategy and funding obligations. Nydia’s actuaries perform both calculations and work with your CPA and financial advisor to ensure your funding decisions are coordinated with your broader tax plan.
Annual AFTAP certification to monitor funding status and benefit restriction thresholds. Schedule SB prepared and signed by Nydia’s Enrolled Actuary for Form 5500.
Defined benefit plans are subject to the Adjusted Funding Target Attainment Percentage (AFTAP) rules, which can restrict or require plan actions depending on funding status. Nydia’s Enrolled Actuaries certify AFTAP for each plan year and prepare Schedule SB, the actuarial information schedule attached to Form 5500 for defined benefit plans.
Required actuarial reports for plan sponsors whose financial statements include pension obligations. Coordinated with your CPA or auditor on your financial reporting timeline.
For plan sponsors whose financial statements require retirement plan disclosures under ASC 715 or ASC 960, Nydia prepares the required actuarial reports. These reports are coordinated with your CPA or auditor and prepared on the timeline your financial reporting process requires.
We work directly with your financial team on contribution timing, deduction limits, and year-end funding decisions. We speak the language your advisors use.
Actuarial decisions and tax strategy are closely connected for defined benefit and cash balance plan sponsors. Nydia’s actuaries work directly with your CPA and financial advisor to ensure contribution amounts, deduction timing, and plan funding decisions are coordinated. We speak the language your financial team uses, which makes every year-end process more efficient.
PLAN TERMINATIONS
Every service Nydia provides for our defined benefit and cash balance plans is performed by or under the supervision of an Enrolled Actuary, credentialed by the Joint Board for the Enrollment of Actuaries.
Termination amendment and participant notices
Final benefit calculations for all participants
Distribution packages and annuity coordination
Final Form 5500 and Schedule SB
PBGC post-distribution certification
BUILT FOR PLANS THAT NEED MORE
If you sponsor a DB or cash balance plan, you need an Enrolled Actuary on your team. Nydia’s in-house actuaries serve as that resource, handling every actuarial requirement for your plan from the annual valuation through distribution calculations and PBGC filings.
Cash balance plans offer some of the highest contribution limits available in the qualified plan space, but they require actuarial design and ongoing certification. Nydia’s actuaries work with you from the design stage to ensure the plan is built around your specific cash flow, workforce, and tax goals. If you’re evaluating whether a cash balance plan is right for your business, our team can model contribution projections before you commit.
If you advise clients who sponsor defined benefit or cash balance plans, Nydia is the Retirement Plan Consultancy (RPC) and actuarial resource you can bring to the table. We coordinate directly with advisors and CPAs on contribution timing, funding strategy, and year-end tax planning, making your client relationships more comprehensive.
An Enrolled Actuary (EA) is a credentialed professional licensed by the Joint Board for the Enrollment of Actuaries, a federal body established under ERISA. Enrolled Actuaries are the only professionals authorized to certify the actuarial information required for defined benefit pension plans, including Schedule SB and AFTAP certifications. The EA credential requires passing rigorous examinations covering actuarial mathematics, pension law, and funding rules.
Defined benefit and cash balance plans promise participants a specific benefit at retirement. Determining how much money the plan needs to fund that promise, and certifying that the plan meets IRS funding requirements, requires actuarial calculations that only an Enrolled Actuary can perform. Without an actuary, a defined benefit plan cannot satisfy its annual filing obligations or legally accept employer contributions.
The minimum required contribution is the amount an employer must contribute to a defined benefit plan under IRC Section 430 to keep it adequately funded. Falling short triggers excise taxes. The maximum deductible contribution is the highest amount an employer may deduct for tax purposes under IRC Section 404. Contributing above this limit results in a non-deductible contribution. Nydia calculates both figures annually so sponsors can make funding decisions that stay within the required range while optimizing their tax position.
Schedule SB is the actuarial information schedule attached to Form 5500 for single-employer defined benefit pension plans. It reports the plan’s funding target, funding target attainment percentage, minimum required contribution, and actuarial assumptions used in the valuation. Schedule SB must be signed by an Enrolled Actuary and is one of the most technically demanding components of a defined benefit plan’s annual filing.
AFTAP stands for Adjusted Funding Target Attainment Percentage. It measures a defined benefit plan’s funded status relative to its benefit obligations. When AFTAP falls below certain thresholds (60% and 80%), the plan becomes subject to benefit restrictions that may limit lump-sum distributions, benefit accruals, and plan amendments. Nydia certifies AFTAP each plan year and helps sponsors understand the implications of their plan’s funded status before restrictions become an issue.
A standard termination of a defined benefit plan requires the plan to have sufficient assets to pay all benefit liabilities. The process includes notifying participants, calculating final benefits, filing with the PBGC, distributing benefits through lump sums or annuity purchases, and filing a final Form 5500. The entire process typically takes 12 to 18 months and requires close coordination between the plan actuary, plan administrator, and PBGC. Nydia manages the full termination process for plan sponsors.
ASC 715 (formerly SFAS 87 and 106) and ASC 960 are accounting standards that govern how employers report the cost and obligations of defined benefit pension plans in their financial statements. Plan sponsors whose financial statements are audited or reviewed by a CPA typically need actuarial reports prepared under these standards. Nydia prepares ASC 715 and ASC 960 reports as part of its actuarial services for defined benefit and cash balance plan sponsors.
Yes. Nydia conducts prior-year compliance reviews and assists sponsors in correcting errors through IRS and DOL correction programs. For defined benefit and cash balance plans, this may include recalculating prior contributions, filing amended returns, or submitting applications under the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS). If the plan has received an inquiry from the IRS, DOL, or PBGC, Nydia also provides representation and response support.
Actuarial services are most powerful when they work in coordination with plan design and administration. Explore the rest of what Nydia provides: