new to forum - advice needed for passing ea2a

[chong]

hello,

I have worked in a pension benefits consulting firm for the past 7 years. I passed the equivalent of SOA courses 1 and 2 probably 10 years ago now (no exam pressure here; if we want to flush our careers down the toilet it is our choice). Anyway I have no desire to study the SOA courses anymore because of my age (41), but I can see the practical value of passing the EA exams.
Now to lead into my question:
There are always tons of resources available for actuarial exams. In the past, I had so many resources to choose from, but sometimes found that one good source was best (for example, I used Gordon Klein's how to pass for some of the smaller exams; this was the older system of course).
I have been out of circulation for a long time. I know everyone's goal is obviously to pass the exams with the least amount of time and money. The bottom line is, I am wondering if it is fairly much agreed upon, though unofficially, what is the best couple of comprehensive resources for passing ea2a, such as Actex, someone's manual, etc.
Thanks so much for your time!

[rookie]

Rick G's seminar and manual are good. I think you can get his study notes without going to the seminar. I believe it is softwarepolish.com. Also the Aitken funding method text is good. Good luck.

[paranoid]

Names you need to know:

Dave Farber
Rick Groskewitz (and yes I know I butchered it)

Both publish materials and hold seminars for EA-2A. Both have stellar reputations. I passed both 2A and 2B after Rick G's seminar (edited to fix humorous typo).

Since you've been in pensions for several years, the Aiken book may not provide you that much new information. But it is fairly well written, so it's a good resource for problems.

Studying for these exams is working problems, problems and more problems. Get an old exam and see where you stand cold.

For me, I knew I was ready for 2A when I was able to say, "Oh this one is testing if I know to prorate the AFC charge (blah, blah, blah). " The problems are tricky, but not so much as to leave you clueless if you are really prepared.

[chong]

Thanks for the summary of what I need to know to get started.