Actuarial Assumptions Reference Database for Planning

Key benefits & value for your financial reporting

The Reference actuarial assumptions database is designed to reduce audit queries, speed up the valuation process and provide defensible, well-documented assumptions for IAS 19 disclosures. Rather than starting from scratch, finance and HR teams receive an organized, auditable set of assumptions that can be adapted to company-specific experience.

Concrete outcomes you can expect

• Shorter valuation timelines — save days or weeks by using pre-built tables and formulas.
• Fewer auditor notes — assumption narratives and disclosure tables formatted to common audit requests.
• Better internal alignment — HR and actuarial reviewers can work from the same documented baseline.
• Scenario-ready — built-in sensitivity sheets (e.g., +/- 0.5% discount rate, +1 year retirement age) to test disclosure impact quickly.

Use cases & real-life scenarios

This database is used by companies and external actuaries in common reporting scenarios:

• Annual financial close: Populate actuarial inputs for IAS 19 valuations delivered with your year-end working papers.
• Audit requests: Provide transparent assumption documentation and sensitivity outputs requested by external auditors.
• Mergers & acquisitions: Quickly harmonize assumptions when consolidating employee benefit obligations across entities.
• Budgeting and forecasting: Use projection scenarios for expected future cash flows tied to end-of-service liabilities.

Real example

A mid-sized manufacturing firm used the database to replace manually prepared tables. By adopting the reference survival and retirement assumptions, they reduced auditor follow-ups and completed the IAS 19 schedules two weeks earlier than the prior year, enabling timely board approval of financials.

Who is this product for?

The database is intended for:

• Finance teams preparing year-end IAS 19 disclosures for End-of-Service Benefits (EOSB).
• External and in-house actuaries needing a reliable baseline of survival and retirement assumptions.
• Auditors and consultants who require standardised, traceable assumption sets.
• HR and compensation teams aligning policy parameters with actuarial models.

How to choose the right version

We offer tiered options so you only pay for what you need:

• Standard — Pre-populated indicative tables covering survival, retirement ages, salary increase curves and turnover by band. Best for companies with standard workforce structures.
• Professional — Includes additional sensitivity sheets, regional variations, and basic narrative disclosures. Recommended for companies with multi-jurisdiction reporting or frequent auditor interaction.
• Custom — Full customization: we adapt tables to your headcount structure, historic experience and reward policies and deliver audit-ready Excel and PDF outputs. Ideal where company-specific data materially differs from standard assumptions.

Choose Standard to get started quickly; upgrade to Professional or Custom if audit notes or company-specific experience require tailored assumptions.

Quick comparison with typical alternatives

Alternatives include building assumptions internally, engaging an actuarial firm to produce assumptions from scratch, or using generic public tables. Compared to those:

• Vs internal build — faster and pre-formatted for disclosures; reduces risk of inconsistent tabulation.
• Vs full actuarial engagement — lower cost and instant delivery; can be combined with external actuarial review if required.
• Vs public tables — more complete (includes turnover, salary growth matrices and disclosure text) and aligned to IAS 19 presentation.

Best practices & tips to get maximum value

1. Start with the Standard set and run sensitivities to identify assumptions that materially affect liability amounts.
2. Document any deviations from the reference assumptions and explain the rationale in your actuarial memo.
3. Share the workbook with your auditor early — the formatted disclosure sheets expedite review.
4. Use the Custom option when company experience materially differs from the default tables.

Common mistakes when buying or using assumption sets — and how to avoid them

• Buying without assessing fit: Check your staff structure and turnover profile before selecting a version. Choose Custom if differences are material.
• Failing to document changes: Always record the reason for adjusting reference assumptions to avoid audit queries.
• Over-relying on defaults: Treat the database as a professional starting point; validate against company experience and HR policy.

Product specifications

• Product type: Reference actuarial assumptions database (Excel workbook + PDF summary).
• Contents: Survival tables, retirement age profiles, salary-increase matrices, turnover by age/band, disability rates, sensitivity sheets, disclosure tables and assumption narrative templates.
• Formats: .xlsx (editable), .pdf (print-ready).
• Compatibility: Microsoft Excel 2016+ / Office 365; cross-checkable with actuarial software outputs.
• Delivery: Instant download after purchase; Custom option includes delivery timeline (typically 3–7 business days).
• Language: English. Disclosure templates editable for local language if required.
• Support: Email support for setup and basic customization included; extended support available with Professional/Custom packages.

Frequently asked questions