Actuary at Colorado Public Employees' Retirement Association in Denver, Colorado

Job Description:

Unleash your potential by joining our team as a contributing member of the Actuarial Services Division. At PERA, you can support those who have supported you whether it’s a favorite teacher, the snowplow driver that cleared winter roads or the state trooper who let you off with a warning. Chances are these people who make a difference are PERA members and you can make a difference to those who have helped you.

JOB SUMMARY

This position will assist PERA’s Actuarial Services Division with various actuarial analysis and reporting duties under supervision of PERA’s Senior Actuary.

In general, this position will be responsible for assisting the Senior Actuary regarding:

• Scheduling, production, and review of actuarial work produced by the Board of Trustees’ (Board’s) external actuarial service provider regarding PERA’s pension and other post-employment benefit (OPEB) plans,


• Updating and / or developing summary and assessment tools related to actuarial topics and plan metrics/analytics,


• Annual production, review, and transmittal of the Pension and OPEB census data files for use by the Board’s external actuaries in the annual actuarial valuations, and


• Special projects or calculations, as requested.

The position is required to participate on the designated team enlisted with the responsibility to annually complete and deliver PERA’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) to the Board, Audit Committee, and Executive staff.

The position will act as general support to the Senior Actuary regarding any responsibilities delegated, as may be necessary and/or appropriate and will be required to familiarize themselves with PERA’s history, actuarial reports, legislation, funding policies, and funding metrics.

PERA will support actuarial exam study-time and reimbursement, as applicable, as well as membership dues for up to two professional associations along with “educational time-off” and resources to keep pace with the professionally required continuing education credits to maintain actuarial credentials.

IDEAL CANDIDATE

A strong candidate would be an actuarial student, meaning someone currently sitting for actuarial exams (preferably the pension track) or someone who has already completed some form of actuarial accreditation. An ideal candidate would have credentials and experience within an actuarial consulting environment, particularly with public sector pension clients, including programming knowledge/experience with one or more actuarial valuation systems, e.g., ProVal or similar, as well as proficiency working with Microsoft Office Products, such as Excel, Word, and PowerPoint. Also, the ideal candidate would have a working knowledge of accounting and financial reporting requirements as promulgated by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB). In addition, the candidate should be a self-starter, capable, willing to learn, and detail oriented.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Assists the Senior Actuary:

• Management of the delivery and analysis of externally produced actuarial work product for accuracy and consistency.
  • Including participating as a member of the PERA ACFR team, assisting with the production of PERA’s ACFR.


• Production or analysis of actuarial subject matter and/or risk-related topics for purposes of communication to executive leadership, other Staff, and Board.


• Development and production of legislative reports that are a responsibility of PERA Staff.


• Review and assessment of proposed legislation impacting/potentially impacting PERA’s funding metrics.


• Forecasting the impact of changes in actuarial assumptions and/or plan provision (benefit and contribution) changes, as is necessary.


• Updating the Board’s Pension and OPEB funding policies.


• Responding to industry studies and/or technical questions regarding data, trends, and/or other results/findings.


• Production, review/testing, and transmittal of the Pension and OPEB census data files for use by the Board’s external actuaries in the annual actuarial valuations.


• Keeping abreast of actuarial industry studies and/or technical information regarding data, trends, mortality, and other actuarially related information.


• Researching, for comparative purposes, other public pension systems, or other types of retirement plans, and OPEB benefits.


• Supporting other PERA Divisions with special projects and/or one-off benefit calculations, as necessary.

This position would have the opportunity to work closely with other PERA Divisions, including Accounting, Application Development, Benefits, Communications, Internal Audit, and Investments.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in mathematics, statistics, or actuarial science


• Pension actuarial credentials or working toward actuarial credentials such as Enrolled Actuary, Associate of the Society of Actuaries, Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, and preferably, membership in the American Academy of Actuaries


• Three or more years of experience in a pension risk strategy capacity within an actuarial or financial consulting firm
  
  • May substitute an equivalent combination of education and experience


• Public pension plan experience preferred with some knowledge of health care plans


• Knowledge of pension liability, selection and assessment of actuarial assumptions, experience analyses, actuarial audits, and asset-liability studies


• Working knowledge of GASB statements and requirements related to year-end disclosures for public pension plans (GASB Statement No. 67) and the employers associated with public pension plans (GASB Statement No. 68.)


• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills


• Project management skills with ability to adapt to frequent change and multiple priorities


• Strong attention to detail


• Strong written and verbal communication skills


• Programming and Excel skills, desirable

WORKING CONDITIONS

• Standard office environment with computer operation and communication, and other office productivity machinery, such as a copier/printer machine.


• All employees are expected to present themselves in a professional manner in alignment with the financial services industry

HYBRID WORK OPTION

• Opportunity to work from home up to two days per week. Eligibility dependent upon factors detailed in PERA's Work from Home Policy.

JOB DESCRIPTION DISCLAIMER:

This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of an employee. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change or new ones may be assigned with or without notice.

Unfortunately, at this time, we cannot consider candidates that require sponsorship (now or in the future), or are located outside of the US.

All Colorado PERA employees are subject to PERA’s Ethics Policy and some employees are subject to the Personal Trading Policy. These policies include restrictions on outside business activities and employment and have certain requirements on personal trading.  You may request copies of these policies from PERA’s talent acquisition team and any questions can be answered by PERA’s Investment Administration team.

INTERESTED CANDIDATES

Complete the employment application online at https://www.copera.org/careers. Please have copies of your resume and cover letter available to upload. Please review the following questions. You will be asked for a response to these as part of your application:

1.  Are you an accredited actuary? Please describe your exam history and accreditation. If not accredited, please describe your current situation regarding actuarial exams. 


2. Do you have experience working in an actuarial consulting environment? 


3. Do you have experience working on public sector pension and/or health care plans? 


4. Do you have experience working with actuarial valuation software (e.g., ProVal or others)? 


5. Do you have work experience conducting or assisting with annual actuarial valuations, experience analyses, actuarial audits, or benefit adequacy/design studies?  Have you worked on any other special actuarial projects, of note? 


6. Do you have any experience producing or assisting with the production of “fiscal notes”—assessing impact of proposed state statutes or county/city ordinances affecting the plan provisions or assumptions related to public/governmental plans? 


7. Are you comfortable working with Microsoft Office products, specifically, Excel, Word, and PowerPoint? 

ABOUT COLORADO PERA

Looking for a career where you can make a difference? Colorado PERA offers benefit services to public employees across Colorado, including teachers, state troopers, snowplow drivers, correctional officers and many others who provide valuable services. As Colorado’s largest pension plan, we serve and educate over 700,000 members who are former and current public employees. 

At PERA you will earn more than a paycheck. PERA is a culture where you can grow your potential and work in an inclusive environment, where diverse perspectives are valued. We hire exceptional employees and recognize that our people are our best asset. Not only do we make sound investments for our members, PERA invests in our employees’ growth through training and leadership opportunities.

To promote wellbeing, we offer hybrid or flexible working options for most roles and a total rewards and benefit program including health, dental and vision coverage - eligibility starts the first day of the month following the date of hire for most plans; generous paid time off and volunteer hours; pension and retirement plans, including PERA’s defined benefit plan, 457 defined contribution plan, and 401(k) employer match, as applicable; tuition assistance; free, convenient on-site parking or RTD subsidy; free on-site fitness center to stay active; employee assistance program; training, leadership and mentoring programs and more. PERA is a Public Service Loan Forgiveness qualifying employer.

To learn more about life at PERA, watch this video or visit www.copera.org/careers.

Position Title: Actuary
Division: Actuarial Services
Reports to: Senior Actuary
Job Status: Full Time / Exempt
Salary: $125,000.00 to $155,000.00, commensurate with experience
Posting Dates: 02/07/2025 to 02/23/2025

Apply Now