WASHINGTON – The Joint Board for the Enrollment of Actuaries is retroactively extending the temporary waiver of its physical presence requirement for continuing professional education (CPE) programs and is proposing regulations to eliminate this in-person requirement altogether.

Adopted as a pandemic-related safety measure, the original temporary waiver, announced on Aug. 10, 2020, applied to any formal CPE program conducted from Jan. 1, 2020, through Dec. 31, 2022. Without this waiver, an enrolled actuary earning credit hours for a formal program would need to do so while being in the same physical location with at least two other participants engaged in substantive pension service.

The Joint Board has issued proposed regulations eliminating the physical presence requirement altogether. Therefore, the Joint Board is extending the temporary waiver until the date the proposed regulations are finalized. Accordingly, the extended waiver applies to CPE credits earned for programs held during the period from Jan. 1, 2023, through the date that is 30 days after the publication of the Treasury decision finalizing these proposed regulations.

Like the original waiver, the extended waiver applies to all enrolled actuaries, whether they are in active or inactive status, and all other CPE requirements remain unchanged. Enrolled actuaries are still required to earn the same number of credit hours under formal programs that would otherwise be required. The other requirements for a formal program continue to apply, including all requirements for a qualifying program under the Joint Board regulations, attendance by at least three participants engaged in substantive pension service and an opportunity for participants to interact with the instructor during the program. In addition, the certificate of completion or instruction issued by a qualifying sponsor of the program must indicate that the program is a formal program.

An enrolled actuary is anyone who meets the requirements established by the Joint Board and is approved to perform actuarial services under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974. The Joint Board’s most recent roster of enrolled actuaries, posted on IRS.gov, lists more than 3,300 individuals. More information about the Joint Board and enrolled actuaries can be found on the Enrolled Actuaries page on IRS.gov.