§ 24-11-205. Actuarial valuation

(a)

1. (1) The Executive Director of the Arkansas Fire and Police Pension Review Board shall cause an actuarial valuation of each plan to be made annually to determine how well the plan is meeting the objectives set forth in § 24-11-204.

2. (2) The actuarial valuation shall be prepared by an actuary under the supervision of the executive director, who shall establish and implement procedures for securing actuarial services.

3. (3) Valuations shall be prepared each year or as required by the Arkansas Fire and Police Pension Review Board for all or certain plans.

4. (4) The executive director shall submit one (1) copy of the actuarial study to the local pension board and a summary of the findings to the Joint Committee on Public Retirement and Social Security Programs.

5. (5) Expenses incurred for performing the actuarial valuations shall be paid from the revenues derived from the premium taxes levied on insurers for the support of fire and police retirement programs.

6. (6) The method and amount of the payment shall be made under § 24-11-203.

(b) The report of each actuarial valuation shall include at least the following:

1. (1) A summary of the plan benefits evaluated;

2. (2) The level normal cost of plan benefits, expressed as a percent of active employee payroll or, in the case of volunteer fire department pension plans, expressed in dollar amounts, computed in accordance with generally accepted actuarial funding methods which produce a normal cost rate at least as high as the entry age normal cost funding method;

3. (3) The accrued liabilities of the plan, which shall be equal to the present value of all future benefits for present plan participants minus the present value of all future normal cost contributions for present plan participants;

4. (4) The contribution required to amortize unfunded accrued liabilities over a period not to exceed thirty (30) years. Unfunded accrued liabilities shall be equal to the accrued liabilities minus the plan’s accrued assets, which are the plan’s cash and investments;

5. (5) The employer contribution required to provide for the normal cost of the plan plus the amount required to amortize the unfunded accrued liability of the plan;

6. (6)

   1. (A) Assumptions of future experiences that are appropriate for the fund in pursuing the general financial objective established by this subchapter.

   2. (B) Assumptions shall be made with respect to at least the following:

      1. (i) Investment return;

      2. (ii)

         1. (a) Pay increase assumptions.

         2. (b) If the pay increase assumption is a constant percentage for all active employee ages, the investment return rate percentage shall not exceed the pay increase percentage by more than two percent (2%) annually, compounded annually, and preferably not by more than one and one-half percent (1.5%).

         3. (c) If the pay increase assumptions are the total of a constant percent plus a changing percentage that decreases as age increases, the investment return rate percentage shall not exceed the constant percent of the pay increase assumptions by more than three percent (3%) annually, compounded annually, and preferably not by more than two percent (2%);

      3. (iii) Mortality;

      4. (iv) Withdrawal or turnover;

      5. (v) Disability;

      6. (vi) Retirement ages; and

      7. (vii)

         1. (a) Change in active employee group size.

         2. (b) If the entire employee group size is assumed to increase, the increase shall be assumed to occur within the five-year period after the valuation date, and to an eventual active employee group size no more than one hundred fifteen percent (115%) of present size;

7. (7) Changes in each assumption since the last actuarial valuation shall be noted; and

8. (8) The actuary shall certify that, in his or her opinion, the assumptions used for the valuation produce results which, in the aggregate, are reasonable.