Navigating Enrolled Actuary Continuing Education Requirements
Maintaining an active status as an enrolled actuary requires adherence to specific continuing professional education (CPE) requirements. These requirements are set forth by the Joint Board for the Enrollment of Actuaries (JBEA) and, for some actuaries, by the American Academy of Actuaries' Qualification Standards. Understanding these requirements and meeting deadlines is crucial for enrolled actuaries to continue practicing.
Renewal of Enrollment: Key Deadlines and Procedures
To timely renew your enrollment, you must complete your continuing professional education (CPE) requirements by December 31, 2025 and submit your completed Form 5434-A, Joint Board for the Enrollment of Actuaries - Application for Renewal of Enrollment and renewal fee by March 2, 2026.
The renewal process involves several key steps and deadlines. To timely renew your enrollment, you must complete your continuing professional education (CPE) requirements by December 31, 2025 and submit your completed Form 5434-A, Joint Board for the Enrollment of Actuaries - Application for Renewal of Enrollment PDF PDF and renewal fee by March 2, 2026. Enrolled actuaries have the option of applying and paying electronically at Pay.gov. If you use Pay.gov, you will be able to complete and submit your Form 5434-A online and pay your renewal fee by credit or debit card or bank account (ACH). If you choose not to use Pay.gov, you still may submit your completed Form 5434-A and renewal fee by USPS or a private delivery service.
Missing either deadline can lead to inactive status. If you miss either deadline and do not receive an official renewal notice dated prior to April 1, 2026, you will be treated as inactive from April 1, 2026, until the date the Joint Board sends your official renewal notice. Renewal applications are processed in the order that they are received. Therefore, if you miss a deadline, you could be placed in inactive status until your application is processed. While in inactive status, you are ineligible to perform services as an enrolled actuary.
Consequences of Inactive Status and Reinstatement
Being in inactive status means you are ineligible to perform services as an enrolled actuary.
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To return to active status for the April 1, 2026 - March 31, 2029, period, if you are in inactive status, please review section 901.11 of the Joint Board regulations and follow the applicable instructions below. Note: You must apply for reinstatement to active status by Dec.
The requirements for reinstatement depend on whether you were eligible to use the “23-” prefix. If you were eligible to use the “23-” prefix, you must satisfy the CPE hours requirement that would have applied had you timely renewed. If you were not eligible to use the “23-” prefix, you must satisfy an increased CPE hours requirement, as well as a certified pension actuarial requirement. These requirements are set forth at section 901.11(l)(7)(ii) or (iii) of the Joint Board regulations.
The reinstatement process involves specific forms and documentation. Complete Form 5434-A PDF PDF. Complete Schedule A (from Form 5434 PDF PDF). Complete a separate Schedule A for each employer within the applicable period specified under section 901.11(l)(7)(ii) or (iii), as applicable. You should report only experience that you believe will qualify as responsible pension actuarial experience (not merely responsible actuarial experience). Submit your completed Form 5434-A, Schedule(s) A, and renewal fee to the address indicated on Form 5434-A.
If the most recent prefix you were eligible to use was "14-" or earlier, your enrollment has terminated, and you must apply for enrollment as a new enrolled actuary by submitting Form 5434.
Changes in Fees and Regulations
Final IRS/Treasury regulations, issued on Oct. 20, 2023, increase both the enrollment and renewal of enrollment user fees for enrolled actuaries from $250 to $680. The new fees are applicable beginning Nov.
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These changes were effective Sept. 18, 2025, and apply to all enrollment cycles ending after Sept. 18, 2025. The temporary physical presence waiver announced in IR-2024-70, March 13, 2024, remained in effect until Sept.
Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Requirements
Under the JBEA, enrolled actuaries must complete 36 qualifying CE hours over a three-year period. As with the Qualification Standards, a qualifying hour of CE is 50 minutes. While the JBEA must approve all organizations providing CE programs, in most instances JBEA approval meets requirements set by the Qualification Standards for a formal program. The JBEA also gives credit for writing peer-reviewed articles, leading discussions in JBEAapproved formal courses, and serving on JBEA examination committees.
Of the 36 qualifying hours, 18 must be spent on “core” subject matter-content that’s integral and necessary for the satisfactory performance of pension actuarial services. Programs that explain the calculations and consequences of issuing an adjusted funding target attainment percentage (AFTAP), for example, are considered core. Non-core courses cover topics that enhance an enrolled actuary’s knowledge, including courses on economics, finance, investments, computer programming, and risk theory.
Academy's Qualification Standards
EAs who belong to the Academy, the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries (ASPPA) and its ASPPA College of Pension Actuaries (ACOPA), the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS), the Conference of Consulting Actuaries (CCA), and the Society of Actuaries (SOA), and who issue statements of actuarial opinion (SAOs), must meet the Academy’s Qualification Standards. An SAO is any communication to a principal that expresses an opinion based on actuarial principles and on which the principal is expected to rely. An enrolled actuary who signs a Schedule SB or MB, for instance, is issuing an SAO.
The Qualification Standards consist of basic education and experience requirements and CE requirements. Under the Qualification Standards’ CE requirements, actuaries must complete 30 hours of relevant course work each calendar year. Of those 30 hours, three must be on professionalism topics and six must be participating in organized activities in which you interact with other professionals (conferences like the Enrolled Actuaries Meeting, for instance).
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Only enrolled actuaries whose practice is limited to certifications on government forms-including filing Schedules SB or MB, forms for the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. Must all enrolled actuaries complete the Qualification Standards’ CE requirements? The answer is an extremely qualified no.
Maintaining Competence and Avoiding Risks
Everyone relishes a challenge. But many times it’s what you don’t know that gets you in trouble. I’m not saying you shouldn’t branch out into other areas. But you need to take measures to ensure that the assignment is done properly. This may require thorough research, working under the guidance of another actuary, or having your work peer-reviewed by another actuary.
Consider, for instance, an enrolled actuary who has relied on the exemption and is asked by a client to determine what the cost impact might be for a change in a retirement plan’s benefit structure. If he or she has met the Qualification Standards’ CE requirements, then-and only then-may he or she respond. An enrolled actuary who doesn’t have enough qualifying hours of CE must decline to answer or enlist the services of another actuary who has the required hours of CE. While this could spark client concerns about his or her competence, the other option-responding to the request, despite not having enough qualifying CE hours-is worse.
Resources and Further Information
Information about initial and continued recognition as qualifying sponsor of continuing professional education programs PDF.
Frequently asked questions PDF. Topics include qualifying continuing professional education (CPE) programs, certificates of completion, CPE credits, and the conflict of interest performance standard.
Pursuant to 41 CFR 102-3.80, the Joint Board provides notice of an amendment to the charter of the Advisory Committee on Actuarial Examinations PDF. This amendment, which was adopted on Feb.
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