Independent Actuaries

What Independent Actuaries does

Independent Actuaries, Inc. (IAI) is an employee-owned actuarial consulting firm founded in 1994 and headquartered in Lake Oswego, Oregon, approximately 10 miles south of downtown Portland. The firm describes itself as the largest locally owned actuarial consulting firm in the Pacific Northwest, with a 12-person professional staff comprising 8 credentialed actuaries (FSAs, ASAs, ESAs) and 4 credentialed consultants (QPA, QKA, MSPA) averaging more than 20 years of experience. IAI provides consulting and administrative services for employer-sponsored retirement plans, with a service portfolio that spans actuarial valuations, plan administration, plan design, plan documentation, plan termination, FASB/GASB financial reporting, pension valuation in divorce proceedings, and expert witness testimony. The firm supports a range of plan types including traditional defined benefit, cash balance, floor offset, defined contribution, profit sharing, 401(k), and Other Post Employment Benefit (OPEB) plans, with particular depth in governmental OPEB valuations under GASB 74/75 across multiple states. The firm's core technology is conventional actuarial valuation software and retirement plan administration systems, with no disclosed proprietary AI, data, or platform assets.

The business model is professional services: annual administration fees and project-based consulting engagements billed directly to plan sponsors, with annual DB plan administration starting at $2,950 per year and custom pricing for complex engagements. The go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven, combining direct consulting outreach with referrals from CPAs, attorneys, and financial planners. IAI's customer base is a horizontal mix of small business plan sponsors (sole proprietors, S-corps, C-corps seeking tax-deductible contributions), governmental employers, plan sponsors with existing plans needing redesign or compliance work, and professional advisors who refer clients. Marketing is content-driven: a monthly Pension Trends Newsletter, blog, educational videos, FAQs, presentations to the Financial Planning Association of Oregon and SW Washington, and a Facebook presence. There is no self-serve, product-led, or channel-based distribution; no external funding, no parent company, and no venture or private equity ownership — the firm is structured as an employee-owned corporation under Oregon jurisdiction.

Name

Independent Actuaries

Legal name

Independent Actuaries, Inc.

Website

https://independentactuaries.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Independent Actuaries (IAI) is an employee-owned actuarial consulting firm founded in 1994 in Lake Oswego, Oregon, providing actuarial valuations, plan design, administration, and FASB/GASB financial reporting for defined benefit, defined contribution, cash balance, and OPEB retirement plans to small business plan sponsors, governmental employers, and advisor referrals across the Pacific Northwest.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Lake Oswego

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Actuarial Consulting Services: Professional consulting fees for plan design, actuarial valuations, and retirement plan advisory services. Charged as annual administration fees or project-based engagements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Independent Actuaries provides actuarial consulting and administrative services for retirement plans, including annual actuarial valuations, plan design studies, ongoing administration, FASB and GASB financial reporting, plan documentation, plan termination, and pension valuation in divorce. The firm specializes in defined benefit, defined contribution, cash balance, floor offset, and OPEB plans for business owners, plan sponsors, and governmental employers. Services are delivered through direct consulting engagements with credentialed actuaries and consultants.

Product overview

Independent Actuaries (IAI) is a locally owned actuarial consulting firm in the Pacific Northwest offering a portfolio of interconnected actuarial and retirement plan services. The core offering is built around actuarial valuations and administration for defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC) retirement plans, supported by consulting, financial reporting (FASB/GASB), plan documentation, plan termination, and pension valuation in divorce services. IAI specializes in specific retirement plan types including traditional defined benefit plans, cash balance plans, floor offset arrangements, profit sharing plans, 401(k) plans, and Other Post Employment Benefit (OPEB) plans. Beyond direct client services, IAI provides educational resources including a Pension Trends Newsletter, presentations, videos, a blog, FAQs, a common terms glossary, annual deadlines reference, retirement plan limits tables, client forms, and a defined benefit plan administration duties guide. The portfolio functions as a unified consulting practice rather than a modular software platform, with each service area reinforcing the others through shared actuarial expertise and client relationships.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Flexible contribution ranges allow plan sponsors to contribute $0 to $200,000+ per year depending on plan design and participant ages
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Milliman: Large independent global actuarial and consulting firm with a strong US retirement practice offering DB plan valuations, cash balance plan design, and pension risk management. Milliman is the most direct peer given its consulting-led, specialist actuarial positioning comparable to IAI's plan sponsor focus.
• Segal Group: Mid-size US actuarial and benefits consulting firm with a leading public-sector and multiemployer plan practice plus DB/DC retirement plan services. Closely comparable in size, retirement plan scope, and governmental employer customer base, including GASB-related reporting.
• Buck Global (Conduent HR Services): US actuarial and benefits consulting firm historically of similar scale to IAI providing retirement plan actuarial, administration, and consulting services. Provides the closest mid-market competitive analog with overlapping DB, DC, and OPEB service offerings.
• SageView Consulting Group: Mid-size US retirement plan advisory firm focused on plan design, fiduciary consulting, and ongoing support for small to mid-sized employers. Comparable in target client segment and service depth to IAI's small business retirement plan focus.

Broad incumbents

• Deloitte: Big 4 professional services firm with a substantial US retirement and actuarial consulting practice across DB, DC, OPEB, and pension risk work. Competes with IAI especially for mid-market and large plan sponsor mandates requiring broader consulting capabilities.
• Mercer: Global consulting firm with a major US retirement actuarial practice serving corporate plan sponsors on plan design, valuations, and pension de-risking. Significantly larger and broader in scope, but competes directly with IAI for mid-market and large employer retirement consulting work.
• EY: Big 4 professional services firm with a strong US retirement and benefits actuarial practice including plan design, valuations, and pension de-risking advisory. Competes with IAI for retirement plan consulting engagements at scale.
• KPMG: Big 4 professional services firm with a US retirement actuarial practice serving corporate and governmental plan sponsors on DB, DC, and OPEB engagements. Similar competitor profile to Deloitte and EY in the retirement actuarial space.
• Aon: Global professional services firm with substantial retirement consulting and actuarial practice including DB plan valuations, pension risk transfer, and actuarial advisory. Competes with IAI for retirement plan engagements across plan sponsor size tiers.
• Willis Towers Watson (WTW): Major global advisory firm with deep retirement actuarial and benefits consulting capabilities across DB, DC, and OPEB engagements. Broader portfolio than IAI but a direct competitor for employer retirement plan consulting mandates.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/IndependentActuariesInc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/independent-actuaries

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Independent Actuaries