Pension agency lets employees study on the job

Federal bookworms who miss their student days should consider a job at the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, where the agency will pay its actuarial employees to study on the job. In June, the Comptroller General ruled that the agency could pay for actuaries to attend training and exam review courses designed to hone their skills and help them pass accreditation exams. Actuaries at the agency can also study for the test during work hours at the discretion of their supervisor, the decision said. The Comptroller General, who is also the head of the General Accounting Office (GAO), issues decisions in certain areas of federal law, including major rules, appropriations and bid protests. GAO's Office of General Counsel prepares the decisions. The decision applies only to actuaries, who use mathematics, statistics and financial theory to predict such things as life expectancy or financial payouts based on studies of large groups of people. Actuaries typically work in such areas as insurance and pension programs. The Pension benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has about 65 actuaries who calculate pension benefits. According to a PBGC spokesman, actuaries did not have to pay for their own training prior to the comptroller general's decision. The recent decision merely codified an existing practice, he said. "We put in the request [to GAO] to codify the program to make sure we conformed to the law," the spokesman said. Certified public accountants, certified employee benefits specialists and other similar professionals at PBGC are also eligible for training and review classes at the government's expense, according to the spokesman. Although PBGC can pay for actuaries' training under the Government Employees' Training Act (Title 5, Section 4109), the agency is not authorized to pay the exam fee, according to the comptroller general's decision. The exam tests actuarial knowledge and skills, but does not enhance skills the way training or courses would, according to the decision. Under the Government Employees' Training Act, only programs designed to increase the knowledge and proficiency of an employee can be considered training. Test fees range from $95 to $900, said Linda Heacox, a spokeswoman for the Society of Actuaries. According to Heacox, the $900 fee is for an unusual exam that requires actuaries to travel to another location and build mathematical models. Employers typically pay for exam fees, she said. In an Aug. 2000 letter to GAO, James J. Keightley, general counsel at PBGC, said enhancing actuaries' skills and knowledge of the field is important because plan participants and pension plan sponsors frequently challenge the agency's benefit-calculation decisions. "Furthering our actuaries' formal training through review courses enhances their ability to perform their assigned duties," said Keightley. The Joint Board for the Enrollment of Actuaries and the Society of Actuaries administer accreditation exams. Supervisors decide who is eligible for training, review courses and on-the-job study time, according to the agency spokesman. Actuaries preparing for the test are eligible to study up to 100 hours during work hours per exam, but cannot exceed 200 hours per year, he said. Each office pays for training costs from its own budget.