Accounting for benefits, incl. FASB, GASB (BenefitsLink.com)Headlines re Accounting for benefits, incl. FASB, GASB, gathered by BenefitsLink.comGrowing Deficits Threaten Public Pensions- (Found July 11, 2008 ) Excerpt: "The funds that pay pension and health benefits to police officers, teachers and millions of other public employees across the country are facing a shortfall that could soon run into trillions of dollars. But the accounting techniques used by state and local governments to balance their pension books disguise the extent of the crisis . . . ." (Washington Post; free registration required)http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/10/AR2008051002883.html Opinion Financial Executives Institute Comments on FASB Proposal On Pension, Post-Retirement Benefit Disclosures- (Found July 11, 2008 ) Excerpt: "On May 6, 2008, a joint comment letter was sent by FEI's Committee on Benefits Finance ('CBF') and Committee on Corporate Reporting ('CCR') to the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), commenting on Proposed FASB Staff Position (FSP) No. 132(R)-a, Employers' Disclosures about Pensions and Other Postretirement Benefits ('the FSP'). The letter . . . stated support for FASB's objective to improve disclosures for assets held in postretirement benefit plans." (Financial...http://www.financialexecutives.org/eweb/DynamicPage.aspx?site=_fei&webcode=main_detail... Guidance Overview Postemployment Benefit Accounting and Financial Reporting for Government Plan Sponsors- (Found July 11, 2008 ) Excerpt: "In this project, the Board will consider the possibility of improvements to the existing standards of accounting and financial reporting for postemployment benefits -- including pension benefits and other postemployment benefits (OPEB) -- by state and local governmental employers and by the trustees, administrators, or sponsors of pension or OPEB plans. One objective of this project is to improve accountability, or the transparency of financial reporting, in regard to the...http://www.gasb.org/project_pages/postemployment_benefit_accounting_and_financial_reportin... Real Victim of Pension Underfunding Future Earnings, Says UBS- (Found July 11, 2008 ) Excerpt: "While almost half of the companies in the S&P 500 have underfunded pension plans, the shortfalls at Ford and Goodyear pose more of a threat to future profitability of those companies than is the case with any of the others in the index, according to a new report from UBS analysts." (Workforce.com)http://www.workforce.com/section/00/article/25/52/53.html ERISA Plan Audits Scoring a Failing Grade- (Found July 11, 2008 ) Excerpt: "As part of its stated goal of providing benefits security, ERISA requires that an independent qualified public accountant (IQPA) perform an annual plan audit and that the accountant's report be included as part of the plan's annual report filed with the Department of Labor. Recent assessments have suggested deficiencies in the accomplishment of that objective." (Health Plan Law blog by Attorney Roy F. Harmon III)http://healthplanlaw.com/?p=633 Guidance Overview FASB Proposes Additional Asset Disclosures for Pension Plans (PDF)- (Found July 11, 2008 ) Excerpt: "The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has issued a proposed staff position requiring sponsors of defined benefit pension plans and other postretirement benefit plans (OPEBs) to disclose additional information about the plan's invested assets. The additional disclosures would be required for fiscal years ending after December 15, 2008, with prospective application only." (Buck Consultants)http://www.buckconsultants.com/buckconsultants/Portals/0/Documents/PUBLICATIONS/Newsletter... Why Liability-Driven Investing A Strategy for Balancing Asset and Liability Risk for Defined Benefit Pension Plans- (Found July 11, 2008 ) Excerpt: "While the primary reason for creating a defined benefit (DB) pension plan is to help employees prepare for retirement, financial stewardship issues have recently eroded their importance as part of the employer's total rewards package to attract and retain talent. Study after study of DB plans has shown that the volatility -- rather than the absolute level -- of costs has spurred employers to act." (Sibson Consulting)http://www.sibson.com/publications/perspectives/volume_16_issue_2/ldi.html Projecting Health Care Cost Trends: Observations on the SOA's New Model- (Found July 11, 2008 ) Excerpt: "Professor Thomas E. Getzen, a health economist at Temple University, developed the Long Term Healthcare Cost Trends Resource Model in consultation with the Society of Actuaries (SOA).2 The project was undertaken to give auditors and others a comprehensive and accepted framework for evaluating long-term trend assumptions and gauging their reasonableness relative to other economic variables." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)http://www.watsonwyatt.com/us/pubs/insider/showarticle.asp?ArticleID=19353 Equity Valuation Effects of the Pension Protection Act of 2006- (Found July 11, 2008 ) Excerpt: "We examine pension firms' abnormal returns surrounding key dates in the legislative process leading to the adoption of the PPA 2006. We also estimate a multivariate model that isolates the equity valuation effects by the key provisions of the legislation. Third, we amend the multivariate model to assess whether there are differential valuation effects for firms in the different at risk categories defined by the PPA 2006." (Social Science Research Network)http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1123770 Study Finds UK Pension Accounting Does Not Capture All Risks- (Found July 11, 2008 ) Excerpt: "Giving employers 20 years instead of 10 to bring their pension plans up to full funded status would allow U.K. companies to cut their annual pension contribution rate by 94%, a new study found." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)http://www.plansponsor.com/pi_type10/?RECORD_ID=42061 |