Senior Consultant and Actuary

Bob is a senior consultant and actuary in Cowden Associates' retirement practice. He provides actuarial and retirement consulting services to a wide range of clients.

Bob joined Cowden Associates in 2011, bringing over 30 years of benefits consulting experience to Cowden’s actuarial practice. He has served as a retirement consultant to many Pittsburgh-area organizations, including sponsors of ERISA-covered plans, church plans and governmental plans.  Bob’s range of experience includes pension funding valuations; pension accounting valuations under FASB and GASB standards, forecasts; union negotiation cost studies and consulting assistance; testimony for labor contract fact-finding and arbitration hearings; actuarial experience studies; plan design analysis; plan terminations; merger & acquisition due diligence related to retirement plans; individual and mass benefit certifications; QDRO analysis; plan interpretation and administration assistance; and benefit statement design and production.

There is a strong connection between mathematics and music.  While actuarial work can be fun, Bob’s real passion is jazz.  Bob takes joy in playing the trumpet with some community bands, including the Swingin’ BopCats Big Band and the Beaver County Symphonic Wind Ensemble.  He also plays the piano and has sung with barbershop quartets.

Bob’s previous employment included 25 years with Mercer and 7 years with Johnson & Higgins.

Bob is an Enrolled Actuary (EA) and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA). He is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics.

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