Buck Bond Group

Strike the right balance with your benefits strategy

Your employees and members are mission-driven: They’re dedicated to caring for and improving the lives of the communities in which they serve. And our mission is to provide them with retirement security and sound healthcare benefits at a cost that’s in line with your budget.

Are your health and retirement plans sustainable, competitive, and ready for what’s ahead?

 

Focused on our commitment to you, your people, and those you serve

Balancing your fiduciary responsibilities with the health and financial needs of your employees is critical to creating a sustainable benefits strategy.

Our employee benefits consultants understand public sector trustees, officials, and other stakeholders face unique challenges: Budget constraints, fiscal demands, and changing needs and priorities require a specialized approach so your team can adapt and meet the needs of all your constituents. It’s about finding the right balance – maintaining fiscally sound policies that meet the retirement, health, and welfare commitments you’ve made to your employees, members, retirees, and their families.

Rooted in our approach, is a commitment to:

  • Protect the health and financial wellbeing of your organization and your people
  • Manage risk to improve predictability
  • Implement sustainable solutions that are responsive to market shifts
  • Provide the right support so your pension and benefits administration run smoothly

Today we serve as a trusted partner for a broad range of public entities across the country, ranging from local, county, state, and federal employers to utilities, schools, universities, and colleges.

What sets us apart

Our people

You’ll work with a team that understands your everyday world and is ready to provide you with the necessary technical expertise to address issues and leverage industry best-practices.

Our experience

We’ll equip you with relevant analytics, deliver actionable insights, and synthesize complex concepts so you can respond quickly and effectively to ever-changing workforce demographics and economic cycles.

Our creativity

We’ve helped to secure the wellbeing of public sector employees for more than 100 years. George B. Buck, our founder, implemented the systematic rules for U.S. public pensions and we continue to serve our clients with a forward-thinking outlook driven by that same spirit of innovation.

How we can help

Specialized public sector retirement actuaries

Public pension plans have their own structural complexities and funding provisions that are distinct from private pension plans. We’ve been serving public sector actuarial needs for retirement benefit plans for more than 100 years and understand these nuances. Our team doesn’t just have the professional qualifications (FSA, ASA, EA, MMA, FCA, and CFA) you’re looking for, they’re also actively involved in their communities and advancing the health and vibrancy of the profession.

Customized risk management

With more than a century of innovation and experience, we take a liability-focused approach to help you reduce pension risk and make investment outcomes more predictable. Our pension risk management services are designed to help you recognize and quantify risks, assess the impact on the organization, and if needed, develop risk mitigation strategies.

Plan governance and compliance

Good plan governance is an essential feature of a well-run retirement plan and expected by plan sponsors, fiduciaries, and regulatory agencies. We keep your plans in compliance by assisting with day-to-day administration and documentation — including drafting plan documents and amendments, summary plan descriptions, and other communications, administrative forms, and procedures — and advising on plan processes and governance.

Actuarial training programs for your board

Your trustees may have limited knowledge of industry jargon, financial modeling, and calculations. We offer a wide range of training courses for board members, pension managers, members of governance committees, and HR and finance professionals regardless of their financial or mathematical backgrounds. Our courses provide a foundation in basic actuarial principles and then build on this knowledge to provide the information your trustees need to be effective in their roles.

Core health strategy

Employee and member health is a critical component of your overall strategy because it directly impacts workforce engagement, performance, and productivity. From the creation and planning of your programs to the support of everyday needs and performance, our consultants understand the healthcare landscape and can help you deliver results. We use workshops, structured discovery meetings, and coaching sessions to help you design the right core health strategy that meets your specific plan population needs today and tomorrow.

Dedicated retiree health actuaries

To meet the healthcare needs of your retirees, you need analytical oversight and sound financial planning. Our industry-leading, one-of-a-kind approach to retiree health consulting ensures health — not pension — actuaries remain on point to work with you from start to finish. We deliver accurate, efficient valuations and provide thoughtful, strategic solutions that help you both meet your long-term business needs and offer the best retiree benefits.

Engagement

Our award-winning employee engagement consultants are dedicated to strengthening the bond between you and your employees and members. We work to identify your needs, understand your culture and stakeholders, assess your population demographics and behaviors using robust data analytics, establish goals and objectives, and develop a communication and engagement plan that we help you put into action. And we’re committed to measuring our success in achieving the attitudinal and behavioral goals that are imperative for your organization.

Investment solutions

In today’s risk-aware environment, investment decisions and plan design are critical for driving optimal outcomes for your plan participants and your organization’s bottom line. We can help you analyze your retirement program’s investment structure and financial strategies to ensure they align with your organization’s strategic intent for the plan.

Resources

An actuarial perspective on asset return assumption and why it matters for public pensions

Join us for a discussion on the role actuaries play in determining the asset return assumption, the rules governing these opinions, and the impact on pension liabilities.

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