These guidelines:

(a) relate to the preparation of reports for trustees and/or employers on the periodic (including initial) actuarial valuations of retirement benefits schemes—they have been primarily designed for schemes where the benefits are defined by the rules and the cost to the employer depends on the actual experience but in other circumstances the guidelines will also apply except to the extent that they are incompatible with the nature of the scheme;

(b) are equally applicable whether advice is supplied directly by actuaries acting as individuals or in partnership or indirectly by employed actuaries—members have a responsibility to secure that their reports and recommendations are received by the trustees or employers to whom they are addressed and are not withheld or amended by third parties;

(c) have been prepared with U.K. requirements and conditions in mind—similar principles would apply elsewhere, subject to modification according to local conditions.