Scott Preppernau

EA, FSA, MAAA

Principal & Consulting Actuary

Portland, OR, US

Scott Preppernau is a principal and consulting actuary in the Portland, Oregon, office of Milliman. He joined the firm in January 2012.

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Experience

Scott has over 20 years of experience in pension plan consulting and has worked with governmental and corporate plan sponsors to effectively manage their pension and retiree medical programs. As a consulting actuary, he assists clients with actuarial valuations, experience studies, liability and contribution projections, legislative impact analyses, plan administration, and financial reporting.

Scott’s clients include large state and municipal retirement systems as well as private sector plan sponsors. In these roles, Scott frequently delivers public presentations to Retirement Boards, elected officials, and other stakeholders. Scott’s recent projects include:

Stochastic analysis of funding strategy outcomes for a large governmental retirement system
Experience studies covering economic and demographic valuation assumptions for multiple governmental plans
Analysis of proposed legislative changes for state-wide retirement systems
Plan design consulting for corporate plan sponsors, including analysis of risk-sharing cash balance or variable benefit formula plans
Consulting on de-risking strategies for corporate plan sponsors
Financial reporting under U.S. GAAP, international (IFRS), and governmental (GASB) accounting standards

Publications and Presentations

In addition to regularly presenting for his own clients in both public venues and corporate environments, Scott is also an experienced presenter at conferences and continuing education seminars. Recent presentations have included:

"Public Education Challenges and Actuarial Consequences." 2025 NCTR Annual System Directors' Meeting.
"Surplus Considerations for Public Pension Plans." Webinar for American Academy of Actuaries, December 2024.
"Oregon PERS Update" at 2024 Oregon Association of School Board Officials Conference
"PERS Update" at 2022 Oregon Society of CPAs Governmental Accounting & Auditing Conference
“Creative Strategies from State Plans” at 2021 National Institute on Retirement Security Annual Conference
“Managing Retirement Risk” at 2018 Milliman client conference
“Innovative Plan Design” at 2017 Mid-Sized Retirement & Healthcare Plan Management Conference
“GASB 68 Panel” at 2016 Oregon Society of CPAs Governmental Accounting & Auditing Conference

Professional Designations

Fellow, Society of Actuaries
Member, American Academy of Actuaries
Enrolled Actuary under ERISA

Education

BS, Mathematics, Linfield College
BS, Economics, Linfield College

Affiliations

Member, American Academy of Actuaries' Public Plan Committee

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Publications

Read their latest work

Article

Cash balance plans: Why small businesses and professional services firms are adding this retirement benefit

08 July 2025 - by Kyle Hughes, Michael J. Peatrowsky, Scott Preppernau

With flexible plan designs and other unique features, cash balance plans are helping small-business owners and highly paid professionals save for retirement.

Article

Why are cash balance plans used to supplement 401(k) plans for higher-paid employees?

04 March 2025 - by Scott Preppernau, Neil Hagin, William Strange

We examine how cash balance plans can serve as a powerful supplement to 401(k)s, offering an effective solution for long-term financial security.

Article

Market-based cash balance plans (MBCBP): Frequently asked questions

06 November 2024 - by Scott Preppernau, William Strange

We answer some FAQs to help employers decide whether to sponsor a market-based cash balance plan.

Article

Impact of COVID-19 on your pension plan: Market volatility and the effect on single-employer plans

02 April 2020 - by Scott Preppernau

The turmoil the COVID-19 pandemic has caused in financial markets raises profound and potentially long-lasting concerns for pension plan sponsors.

Article

Pension risk perspective: Insight for corporate defined benefit plan sponsors

28 April 2014 - by Tim Connor, Scott Preppernau, Zorast Wadia

What traditional and non-traditional strategies can help plan sponsors address pension risks?

Experience

Stochastic analysis of funding strategy outcomes for a large governmental retirement system
Experience studies covering economic and demographic valuation assumptions for multiple governmental plans
Analysis of proposed legislative changes for state-wide retirement systems
Plan design consulting for corporate plan sponsors, including analysis of risk-sharing cash balance or variable benefit formula plans
Consulting on de-risking strategies for corporate plan sponsors
Financial reporting under U.S. GAAP, international (IFRS), and governmental (GASB) accounting standards

Scott Preppernau

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Experience

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Read their latest work

Cash balance plans: Why small businesses and professional services firms are adding this retirement benefit

Why are cash balance plans used to supplement 401(k) plans for higher-paid employees?

Market-based cash balance plans (MBCBP): Frequently asked questions

Impact of COVID-19 on your pension plan: Market volatility and the effect on single-employer plans

Pension risk perspective: Insight for corporate defined benefit plan sponsors

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Scott Preppernau

Experience

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