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Vanessa Vaag

FSA, EA, MAAA
Principal & Consulting Actuary
Little Falls, NJ, US
1 973 569 5629

Vanessa Vaag is a principal and consulting actuary with the Little Falls, New Jersey Employee Benefits Practice of Milliman. She joined the firm in 1994.

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Experience

Vanessa specializes in corporate retirement plan consulting. Areas of expertise include all aspects of design, administration, valuation, and consulting on defined benefit plans, supplemental executive plans, and retirement incentive programs. Client assignments include ongoing plan valuation and administration, GAAP and SSAP financial accounting, governmental CAS valuations, budgeting and cost projections, legislative compliance, and design and redesign of benefit plans. She has extensive experience with asset-liability forecasts and de-risking strategies, plan terminations, and is an active member of Milliman’s international merger and acquisition team.

Publications

Read their latest work

Article

Dear Actuary: What are the alternatives to terminating our defined benefit pension plan?

25 September 2025 - by Vanessa Vaag
We present three alternatives to terminating a DB plan in order to reduce risk, minimize accounting surprises, and support plan participants’ long-term security.
Article

Dear Actuary: How may tariffs impact the costs of employee benefits programs?

12 September 2025 - by Marcella Giorgou, Vanessa Vaag
We offer some thoughts on how plan sponsors can proactively address the potential impact of tariffs on the costs of employee benefits programs.
Article

Benefit plans staring down tariff turmoil

12 May 2025 - by Vanessa Vaag, Marcella Giorgou
Amid tariff turbulence, we offer guidance for employers balancing compensation and benefit programs with profitability.
Article

Alternatives to plan termination: Balancing sponsor concerns and participant security

19 March 2025 - by Vanessa Vaag
In lieu of terminating a DB pension plan, we present seven alternative strategies to help plan sponsors address concerns and preserve participant retirement security.
Article

DB plan key considerations in anticipation of 2024 interest rate cuts

01 March 2024 - by Jack Chmielewski, Vanessa Vaag
With the U.S. Federal Reserve likely to start cutting interest rates in 2024, we discuss six ways defined benefit plan sponsors can prepare for the impact.
Article

SECURE 2.0, RISE & SHINE and EARN Act surprises: How the “small” pension cash-out limit could change

30 August 2022 - by Charles J. Clark, Vanessa Vaag
After the passage of Secure 2.0 and other legislation, we think a higher cash-out limit could benefit both plan sponsors and participants in some cases.
Article

Benefits alert: American Rescue Plan Act guidance by IRS for single employer DB plans emphasizes written elections for compliance

02 August 2021 - by Vanessa Vaag, Charles J. Clark
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Notice 2021-48 has been released with compliance guidance under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) for single employer defined benefit (DB) pension plan sponsors and their U.S. tax-qualified retirement plan advisors.
Article

Critical Point Episode 30: How the American Rescue Plan Act can impact single and multiemployer pension plans

19 April 2021 - by Charles J. Clark, Vanessa Vaag, Grant Camp
This podcast episode explores how the American Rescue Plan Act may impact single and multiemployer pension plans, and what plan sponsors should consider when taking potential action as a result of ARPA.
Article

Client Action Bulletin: Single employer defined benefit pension plan relief enacted in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021

10 March 2021 - by Vanessa Vaag, Bret Linton
Client Action Bulletin: How the Rescue Plan Act brings relief for defined benefit plans of single employers.
Article

Benefits alert: “Partial Plan Termination” relief for qualified 401(k), 401(a) defined contribution plans and defined benefit pension plans in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021

29 December 2020 - by Bret Linton, Vicki Mazzie, Vanessa Vaag
In addition to annual funding for the federal government and provisions on economic stimulus necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, enacted on December 27, includes temporary relief from the minimum vesting standards tax rules for employer-sponsored retirement plans- both defined contribution and defined benefit pension plans.