Actuary

About TCDRS

Since 1967, Texas County & District Retirement System has grown into a $51 billion trust, partnering with 890 counties and governmental districts to provide reliable retirement, disability, and survivor benefits. TCDRS offers savings‑based benefits that are responsibly funded in advance. Our system provides flexibility and local control that allows employers to design benefit plans tailored to their workforce needs and budgets.

Employers choose from varying plan options with a unique plan design that impacts each plan’s actuarial analyses, valuations, funding, and statistical review. Employers fund their plan annually based on results from their plan’s actuarial valuation with applied assumptions. TCDRS is one of the best‑funded retirement systems in the nation. Our unique features distinguish us from traditional pension plans and keep us financially strong.

The Staff Actuary will be a part of TCDRS’s Decision Support Team. This role helps ensure the plan’s funding and actuarial practices remain sound, data‑driven, and aligned with professional standards and applicable guidance. The Staff Actuary works closely with internal teams (Finance, Investments, Employer Services, Communications, and IT) and TCDRS’s external consulting actuaries to produce valuations, experience analyses, GASB reporting support, and employer‑facing deliverables.

• Support actuarial valuations and projections used to determine employer contribution rates and assess plan funding
• Prepare and review actuarial exhibits, reconciliations, and results summaries for internal and external audiences
• Review consulting actuary’s deliverables for reasonableness
• Provide GASB‑related financial reporting support (e.g., schedules, disclosures, and audit/data requests) and coordinate with internal stakeholders and external auditors
• Partner with business, consultants, and technical teams to translate policy into clear actuarial calculations and employer‑facing outputs
• Use SQL and relational database tools to extract, validate, reconcile, and analyze data; identify anomalies and help resolve issues
• Help maintain and improve actuarial models and templates, and explore opportunities to improve automation
• Contribute to documentation and controls that support repeatable, auditable processes.
• Stay current on developments affecting public pension plans (assumption trends, actuarial standards, funding policy practices, pension rules, and regulatory guidance)
• Communicate projections, initiate fresh ideas based on possible trends in actuarial standards, policies, practices and governance to ensure best practices to actuarial analyses are applied
• Evaluate changes to possible funding arrangements and plan design as opportunities arise. Consider TCDRS plan changes that may be beneficial to employer plans and participants
• Complete pro forma analyses on potential legislation, cash flow analysis, and updates to actuarial or compliance guidelines
• Attend and participate in actuarial conferences and participate in actuarial professional organizations to stay abreast of actuarial changes and trends
• Educate staff about actuarial concepts to help communicate plan funding and compliance

• Associate of the Society of Actuaries (ASA) designation required
• Bachelor’s degree in actuarial science, mathematics, statistics, economics, finance, or a related field
• Ability to align actuarial deliverables with organizational strategy, balancing cadence, effort, and impact
• Experience with pension plan actuarial valuations, preferably with public pensions
• Working knowledge of GASB concepts and how actuarial results tie to financial reporting
• Proficiency with relational databases, Microsoft Access, and SQL, including writing and interpreting queries and using them to manipulate, reconcile, and validate data
• Advanced skills in Excel, including complex formulas, data analysis, and macros/VBA for process automation and efficiency
• Strong analytical skills, sound judgment, and attention to detail
• Clear written and verbal communication skills (able to translate technical concepts to non-technical audiences)
• Willingness to work from TCDRS’s office in…