EA 2 A

[tope]

Guys

Im planning on taking EA 2 A in November, and I do not seem to know what the best way to tackle this exam is..I see so many materials to read etc, is there a clean and dirty way of explaining what I need to focus on, it just doesn't seem that there are set materials for this exam..Any help will be appreciated

Thanks

[PPO Guru]

Can EA courses be taken out of order or do I need to take EA-1 first?

[brandonwnw]

My understanding is that you can take EA exams in any order you choose. That being said, I'm sure it would help to have some experience with commutation functions and interest theory before you head into EA-2A.

[PPO Guru]

Would not 6 months of study and a seminar not suffice?

[brandonwnw]

I'm sure that would be sufficient, however, having just sat for EA-1 for the second time, I feel like I am now pretty competent in the area of commutation functions and actuarial equivalence. My understanding is that this is a minor part of the the exam since any required annuity factors are provided in the question.

All I'm saying is that it is better to have to learn less for each exam rather than more. I'm sure you can pass easily without having the background from prior tests, but the less background material you have to read/study, the better you can focus on the stuff that is the "focus" of the exam.

[PPO Guru]

Thank you very much for the insight.

[Master Shake]

Does anyone have an idea about how much of the exam is funding methods (PUC, EAN, etc) and how much of the exam is funding law?

Just curious.

[Emily]

Does anyone have an idea about how much of the exam is funding methods (PUC, EAN, etc) and how much of the exam is funding law?
You can see the questions for yourself here.
http://www.studymanuals.com/exam7.htm
On a typical question you are tested on your knowledge of funding law, but you also need to know the funding methods in order to work the problem. For example:

Question 5 (4 points)

Plan effective date: 1/1/1999.
Actuarial cost method: Frozen initial liability.

Valuation interest rate:

Before 2003 8% per year
After 2002 7% per year

Credit balance in funding standard account as of 12/31/2002: $2,500.

Selected valuation results as of 1/1/2003:

8% 7%
Normal cost $35,000 $40,000
Unfunded liability 325,000 450,000

Contribution for 2003: $90,000 paid on 12/31/2003.

In what range is the credit balance in the funding standard account as of 12/31/2003?

(A) Less than $4,000
(B) $4,000 but less than $4,500
(C) $4,500 but less than $5,000
(D) $5,000 but less than $5,500
(E) $5,500 or more

It should be clear that you need to know both the law and the method in order to do this problem. I suggest learning the methods thoroughly and then learning the code, but that's just what worked for me.

[Fortal]

As I just found out I passed C7, I'm now officially studying for the EA2A seminar next Fall. I've been working on cost method problems so far, but in a relaxed, unhurried way. I intend to pick up a lot of steam by August, when I'll start looking at the "real" problems (i.e., problems involving min/max calculations)...

[mr. eigen vector]

i want to start studying for this exam but not sure what texts to order..everyone suggests the aitken text and rick g's seminar...

waht other prep materials are people using..is actex anygood? how do people study for this exam..doesnt seem like the regular actuarial courses to me..any thought woudl be great..thx

[mr. eigen vector]

does anyone actually read these irs promulagations..and i see there are 4 textbooks, actuarial cost methods, pension funding and valuation, pension math for actuaries, and fundamentals of pension math.

did you guys order and read all these texts..

[smarty pants]

I passed 2a & 2b without reading a word of code, other than to clarify a couple difficult topics. Problem is, that difficult topics in the study guides are even more difficult in legal jargon so either way the reg books were useless to me. This isn't the case for everyone. It's all about working buttloads of problems. It's difficult working prior exam problems because you go back even a couple years and you're working problems under different law. So I was pretty much at the mercy of any study guides and problems they provided. Farbers problems were pretty helpful. Rick G's were lengthy, difficult and a lot of times overkill. They weren't representative of exam problems but they sometimes offered critical points within the mega time-consuming problems he wrote.

I'm not sure what this emoticon is, but I've never used one before. I was feeling an emotion the other day, the emotion that feels like 3 floating heads gnawing on a horse carcas and whipping it, so I was surprised to see that someone else must feel that same emotion and created an emoticon for it. Amazing! :horse:

[mr. eigen vector]

which study guide did you use or can suggest to use?

[smarty pants]

I thought Farber's was the best, especially his 100+ problems. I also got Rick G's material. I think you can get most of what you need between the two. Sometimes Rick G's material is difficult because he'll have a page of 4 sentence fragments in 100 pt. font, that don't develop a thought, they're more like bullet points. Not all pages are like that though. If you have ADD you will probably like his material better.

[Blue Bell Knoll]

I just received Faber's EA-2A Course Outline and Review Questions and I'm planning on ordering Rick G's seminar notes. Any other suggestions?

What's the best way to approach this exam - working lots and lots of problems?

[slam]

Working lots and lots of problems is the best. My suggestion is after doing an old exam problem read Rick G.'s solution. His solutions are generally well-written (despite an occasional error) and informative. That's how I got the basics down. Farber's questions are also good, but tend to be a little more complex than actual exam questions. Still, they are excellent training. Rick G.'s "homework" problems are the most difficult and long and are not at all indicative of actual problems. I found them very useful, nonetheless.

Remember, students who pass this exam are not necessarily those who are the sharpest on the hardest questions. They are the students who can do the routine questions error-free in a short amount of time.

[Fortal]

I thought Farber's was the best..., .... If you have ADD you will probably like [Rick.G's] material better.

What do you mean by "ADD"?

[Emily]

What do you mean by "ADD"?
Attention Deficit Disorder
The major symptoms of the disorder are distractibility, forgetfulness, inability to concentrate, poor attention span and impulsiveness.
http://add.about.com/cs/addthebasics/a/faq.htm