GASB issues statement addressing Postemployment Benefits Other than Pensions.

• Position: Accounting & auditing news - Governmental Accounting Standards Board - Brief Article

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board last month issued Statement No. 45, Accounting and Financial Reporting by Employers for Postemployment Benefits Other Than Pensions, which addresses how state and local governments should account for and report their costs and obligations related to postemployment healthcare and other nonpension benefits (OPEB).

The statement generally requires that state and local governmental employers account for and report the annual cost of OPEB and the outstanding obligations and commitments related to OPEB in essentially the same manner as they currently do for pensions. Annual OPEB cost for most employers will be based on actuarially determined amounts that, if paid on an ongoing basis, generally would provide sufficient resources to pay benefits as they come due. The provisions of Statement 45 may be applied prospectively and do not require governments to fund their OPEB plans. An employer may establish its OPEB liability at zero as of the beginning of the initial year of implementation; however, the unfunded actuarial...